Chapter 0836: Fragrant Tower

Chapter 0836: Jiaoxiang Tower

Xian Rujing glared at Qin Yun’s grinning face, her hand itching to slap him.

"You scoundrel, don’t even think about sowing discord between us! The depth of my bond with Chuanwu is beyond your comprehension!" Xian Rujing snapped coldly. "Even if... even if he steps out on me, that's only natural! He’s so outstanding—he's practically a magnet for admirers!"

Qin Yun nodded with a smile. "Hmm, you’re right! What's the big deal about a man having multiple wives and concubines? But at the very least, the women he finds should be on par with you!"

Xian Rujing grew angrier the more she listened. "Women on par with me? Don’t delude yourself! Even if he’s with others outside, it’s just a fleeting affair—those women are nothing but outlets for his urges. I’m the only one in his heart!"

"Who knew you'd be so understanding? Long Chuanwu is truly lucky to have such a good wife like you!" Qin Yun chuckled.

"You’re jealous, aren’t you? Hmph! A lowlife like you could never have a wife as excellent as me in a hundred lifetimes! No one would even marry you!" Xian Rujing suddenly said smugly.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I already have a wife!" Qin Yun laughed heartily. "And she’s far more outstanding than you. Standing next to her, you’d look like the help!"

"I’ll kill you!" Xian Rujing swung her Immortal Sword and thrust it straight at Qin Yun’s forehead.

Qin Yun quickly closed his eyes, putting on a show of being unafraid to die, muttering, "You touched me, you touched me, you touched me..."

Xian Rujing was furious. "So what if I touched you?! I wish I could cut your damn balls off!"

Qin Yun immediately spread his legs. "Go ahead, come and castrate me! After what you did to me, I might as well die!"

"Stop pretending! Do you really think I don’t dare to kill you?" Xian Rujing raised her sword several times, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to strike.

"Of course you dare, so hurry up and kill me!" Qin Yun sneered. "After you kill me, go find your darling Chuanwu. Who knows, he might be getting his rocks off in some whorehouse right now!"

Xian Rujing saw red. "You scoundrel, I’ll tell you one more time! My Chuanwu is not that kind of man—he would never set foot in such filthy places! If you dare question his character again, I’ll carve you up like a festival roast!"

Qin Yun grinned. "If you don’t believe me, let’s go see for ourselves, shall we?"

"How?! We’re locked up here! Don’t think provoking me will make me take you out—I'm not stupid enough to take your bait!" Xian Rujing had originally planned to torment Qin Yun for a few days, but now she was the one being tormented.

Qin Yun knew full well that Xian Rujing couldn’t bring herself to kill him.

Deep down, Xian Rujing felt a little guilty—she couldn’t shake the ick of having accidentally touched Qin Yun there.

"If you agree, I can take you there right now!" Qin Yun said.

"Fine! I’ll go with you. How do you plan to get us out of this dungeon?" Xian Rujing huffed.

"Give me your hand!" Qin Yun said.

"Don’t even think about touching me!" Xian Rujing instantly became wary.

"You’ve already touched *me* there—what’s one little handhold between friends?" Qin Yun found it hilarious.

Xian Rujing said coldly, "Don’t try anything funny, or I’ll make you beg for death! You know full well you’re no match for me!"

She reluctantly extended her hand.

Qin Yun took it, making both their bodies turn ghostly, then activated the Piercing Mystic Art.

Though the dungeon had many barriers, not all were active—since Xian Rujing was still inside, Qin Yun could waltz right out with her.

Xian Rujing stood gobsmacked as Qin Yun led her out of the dungeon. Now she understood why he had been so fearless—he could escape anytime.

"Stay quiet—don’t speak!" Qin Yun whispered directly into her mind [telepathically].

"You bastard, you deliberately got yourself thrown into the dungeon! What exactly are your intentions toward me?" Xian Rujing whispered telepathically, cautiously following Qin Yun through a dim passageway to escape the underground palace.

"What intentions could I have? If anything, it’s you who had the Long family arrest me—you’re the one with schemes!" Qin Yun transmitted back.

"Hmph! Of course, I wanted to teach you a harsh lesson!" Xian Rujing hissed.

Before long, Qin Yun led Xian Rujing out of the underground palace and into the forbidden zone above.

It was midday, and both Qin Yun and Xian Rujing became completely invisible, unseen by anyone. Qin Yun also carried a Mystic Concealment Talisman, which cloaked their auras.

Relying on his memory, Qin Yun navigated through the high-security restricted area.

Xian Rujing was secretly astonished—she hadn’t expected this lowly servant to possess such skill, effortlessly moving in and out of such a secure place.

Qin Yun brought Xian Rujing back to Long Yucang’s residence.

Long Yucang was pacing alone inside, clearly worried about Qin Yun.

"Boss Long, I’m back!" Qin Yun suddenly called out, then made Xian Rujing visible as well.

The moment Long Yucang saw Qin Yun and the beautiful Xian Rujing appear out of nowhere, holding hands, he was completely stunned, almost felt like bowing.

He had been afraid Qin Yun would be beaten to a pulp by Xian Rujing, yet here he was, barely any time later, leading her back by the hand—completely blowing Long Yucang’s mind.

"Brother... Brother Yun, is... is that Xian Rujing?" Long Yucang blurted out.

"It’s me. What of it?" Xian Rujing snorted, though she couldn’t explain why sneaking out with Qin Yun gave her a strange excitement.

Long Yucang nearly kowtowed to Qin Yun in reverence.

"Brother Long, prepare a carriage immediately—take me to the brothels near Dragon King Manor!" Qin Yun said.

"Brothels?! Wh-what? Are you planning to sell her there?!" Long Yucang’s eyes almost popped out, barely suppressing a shout.

Qin Yun rolled his eyes. "Of course not! I suspect Long Chuanwu is at a brothel, and this lady here refuses to believe it, so I’m taking her to see for herself!"

Qin Yun’s confidence came from Long Yucang’s earlier mention that several Long family members, who ran brothels, were close with Long Chuanwu.

"No problem, I’ll take you right away!" Long Yucang said, hastily summoning a carriage.

Long Yucang, Qin Yun, and Xian Rujing boarded the carriage.

"By the way, when we leave, they might inspect the carriage. You’ll need to hide then," Long Yucang warned.

"No problem!" Qin Yun chuckled, glancing at Xian Rujing. "Just stay quiet when the time comes."

Xian Rujing narrowed her eyes at him. "Relax, I won’t make a sound! I’d love to see how long your little tricks last!"

With that, she grabbed Qin Yun’s hand and squeezed hard, coldly adding, "Don’t misunderstand—I just don’t want you running off. You’re far too sneaky!"

Qin Yun only smiled, saying nothing more.

Long Yucang said, "Brother Yun, Long Chuanwu probably left Dragon King Manor with those guys—the ones who run brothels. They must be out having fun."

Xian Rujing hissed, "You bastard, don’t you dare slander my Chuanwu! He’s absolutely not that kind of filthy man!"

Long Yucang smirked. "Miss Xian, anyone can tell Long Chuanwu is an expert in these matters. He might seem cold, but his bedroom skills are unmatched."

"Lies! He’s hardly laid a finger on me all this time! He’s innocent through and through—only filthy minds like yours would think so lowly of him. Then again, what else can you do when you’re no match for him? Slander is your only weapon!" Xian Rujing sneered.

Qin Yun didn't press further.

Long Yucang laughed and said, "Miss Xian, it's normal for men to be lustful, but someone like Long Chuanwu, who spends all his time in brothels, is downright shameless!"

Xian Rujing said coldly, "If you can't provide proof, none of you will leave alive!"

...

As the carriage moved along, Qin Yun also gave himself a complete makeover, transforming into a middle-aged man.

Both Xian Rujing and Long Yucang were taken aback. If they encountered Qin Yun outside, they definitely wouldn’t recognize him.

"Brother Yun, just how many identities do you have?" Long Yucang began to suspect that even the face he had seen before might have been fake.

"Heh, more than you'd believe!" Qin Yun chuckled.

"Too afraid to show your real face—must be one ugly bastard!" Xian Rujing sneered disdainfully.

"Miss Xian, if we're comparing handsomeness, your fiancé might not even be as attractive as my left elbow. Believe it or not?" Qin Yun teased.

"Someone as scheming as you must be butt-ugly!" Xian Rujing scoffed.

At that moment, Qin Yun produced a SoulChasing Talisman.

When he had arm-wrestled Long Chuanwu earlier, the Nine Sun spirit core had absorbed a great deal of Long Chuanwu’s power. Now, he extracted traces of Long Chuanwu’s energy from that power and infused it into the SoulChasing Talisman.

This way, he could track Long Chuanwu’s location.

Soon, the SoulChasing Talisman locked onto a location.

"North of Dragon King City—there’s a brothel built by Long Tao called Jiaoxiang Lou (Fragrant Charm Pavilion)!" Long Yucang said.

Xian Rujing’s heart lurched, her worry growing even stronger.

She absolutely could not tolerate the idea of Long Chuanwu frequenting brothels. She couldn’t help but feel nervous, dreading the confirmation.

Her grip on Qin Yun’s hand was painful.

By evening, the carriage arrived beneath the Jiaoxiang Lou.

The brothel was dozens of stories tall, gaudily painted in bright colors.

"We’re here. You two go in—I’ll wait here!" Long Yucang didn’t dare go up, afraid that any conflict might get him wiped out in seconds by Long Chuanwu.

Qin Yun pulled Xian Rujing along, and the two vanished from sight before stepping out of the carriage.

The reason Qin Yun wanted to stir up trouble was to disrupt the Heavenly Dragon Gate from within.

Anyone could see that Long Chuanwu was important to the Heavenly Dragon Gate. If Long Chuanwu and Xian Rujing came to blows, the internal chaos within Dragon King Manor would only worsen, giving Qin Yun an opening to strike.

Inside the Jiaoxiang Lou, everywhere were courtesans dressed in flamboyant silks, their faces thickly powdered, exuding an overwhelming stench of vice.