Yaoqin did not respond immediately. Instead, she first carried the qin into the room and placed it on the table. After sitting down, she finally spoke slowly:
"It's been a long time. I thought you were dead."
Chu Xingchen picked up an unused cup from the side, poured tea for Yaoqin, and handed it to her. Just as he was about to explain, Yaoqin spoke first:
"I forgot. As you would say, a scoundrel like you lives for a thousand years. You're not so easy to kill."
Little Ling, who was standing respectfully nearby, couldn't help but laugh at this. However, when Yaoqin's gaze turned her way, she quickly stifled her laughter.
Yaoqin waved her hand, signaling the maid beside her: "You may leave now."
Little Ling hesitated, looking up at her mistress.
Her mistress always ended up being fooled by this guy! If she left now, she wouldn't be able to warn her mistress, and who knows what tricks he might pull this time.
It was strange. Her mistress was usually so clever, but around this guy, she seemed to become even more gullible than Little Ling herself.
Reluctantly, Little Ling whispered, "Mistress..."
Yaoqin's gaze remained fixed, and without a word, she simply waved her hand again.
With a sigh in her heart, Little Ling realized that if she didn't comply, her mistress would get angry. Despite her reluctance, she had no choice but to step out of the room.
With Little Ling gone, only Yaoqin, veiled, and Chu Xingchen remained in the room.
Yaoqin kept her eyes lowered, focusing on the qin on the table as she gently adjusted its strings:
"Speak. What brings you to me this time?"
Chu Xingchen sighed, his tone slightly indignant:
"Why do you speak so coldly, Miss Yaoqin? As if I only come to you when I need something."
Hmph. Cold? Who was it that kept calling her "Miss Yaoqin" from the moment he arrived?
Yaoqin still didn't look up, her voice even icier:
"Has there ever been a time when you sought me out without needing my help?"
This made Chu Xingchen pause for a moment. After thinking about it carefully... Yaoqin wasn't wrong. Every time he had sought her out, it was indeed to ask for her help.
And come to think of it, he had never really repaid her for any of it. Had he been taking advantage of her all this time?
This time, too, he had come to her with a request.
Yaoqin waited for a moment, but when Chu Xingchen remained silent, she pressed him:
"What? Cat got your tongue?"
After some thought, Chu Xingchen realized he needed to be more tactful this time, lest he be denied entry the next time he needed her help.
He looked up at Yaoqin and said, "I wish to entrust my heart's matters to Yaoqin."
Yaoqin was taken aback, her hands pressing down on the qin strings as she asked coldly:
"What are you trying to say?"
Faced with her icy tone, Chu Xingchen seemed genuinely hurt. He sighed and said:
"I wish to entrust my heart's matters to Yaoqin. But with so few who understand me, who will listen if the strings break?"
The elegance of the Bamboo Jade Pavilion lay in the fact that money alone couldn't guarantee success.
But if you had talent, if you had style, and if you were handsome enough, you stood a good chance.
Chu Xingchen relied on his wit and humor, borrowing ancient poems from his previous life.
By casually throwing out a few masterful verses, he could easily win over these aloof courtesans.
At least, that was how it had been with Yaoqin, although he still hadn't even touched her hand.
This time, by incorporating her name into the poem, he hoped to show his sincerity.
Chu Xingchen was confident that Yaoqin would be deeply moved.
But...
Things didn't go as he expected.
Instead of a shy response from Yaoqin, he was met with a violent sound wave.
Yaoqin raised her hand and unleashed a powerful sonic attack.
Zheng—
The piercing sound wave grazed his ear, snapping Chu Xingchen back to reality. He quickly rubbed his ears.
Yaoqin angrily exclaimed, "You scoundrel! Do you think just because we've met a few times, you can toy with me?"
"Wait... How am I a scoundrel? I haven't even touched your hand. Isn't this a bit unfair?"
Hearing this, Yaoqin quickly withdrew her hand from the table, giving Chu Xingchen a disdainful look.
"...Fine, I was wrong."
Chu Xingchen sighed. He should have just gotten straight to the point. He took out a Blood Qi Spirit Stone from his spatial ring and placed it on the table.
Yaoqin's eyes immediately locked onto the stone.
After a brief glance, she looked sharply at Chu Xingchen, her spiritual sense sweeping over him. However, she found that her spiritual sense couldn't penetrate his protective barrier.
"You've reached the Golden Core stage?" Yaoqin frowned slightly.
Chu Xingchen leaned back in his chair and said,
"Yes, did I surprise you?"
Yaoqin was well aware of Chu Xingchen's aptitude. If he were truly a prodigy, after drinking so much of her Qingming tea, he would have understood its effects and realized how much she had favored him.
But this guy drank the Qingming tea like it was ordinary water, and after so many times, he still hadn't grasped its significance.
His aptitude was far from impressive.
The last time they met, he was only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. Yet, in just about a year, he had already reached at least the mid-Golden Core stage.
Yaoqin lowered her gaze to the Blood Qi Spirit Stone on the table.
A troubling thought crossed her mind.
Yaoqin scolded him, "Have you turned to demonic cultivation?!"
Chu Xingchen quickly defended himself, "Don't spread rumors! Everyone in Yuzhou City knows that the White Dragon of the Waves is a paragon of righteousness!"
Yaoqin demanded, "Then how do you explain your cultivation level and this spirit stone?"
Chu Xingchen embellished the story of his encounter with the demonic cultivators at the Qingfeng Sect's mine.
"This Blood Qi Spirit Stone is something I obtained from the Qingfeng Sect's mine."
He lightly tapped the spirit stone on the table.
Yaoqin picked up the stone and probed it with her spiritual sense. Indeed, it was filled with a sinister, bloody aura.
It was the work of extreme demonic cultivators.
Yaoqin asked, "So, you came to me to deal with the Qingfeng Sect?"
Chu Xingchen shook his head, "Not exactly. I just wanted to know if there's a way to purify this spirit stone."
Yaoqin looked at him suspiciously, "Do you have many of these stones?"
Chu Xingchen replied honestly, "Only two. I just thought it would be safer to know how to counter such demonic cultivators if I encounter them in the future."
Yaoqin nodded slightly,
"It will take some time. I can't guarantee I can solve it... Come back in a few days and ask again."
"No need. I'll be staying in Yuzhou City for a while. Once you have an answer, just send a letter to this address."
Chu Xingchen picked up a brush and wrote down his current address in flowing calligraphy.
Yaoqin glanced at the elegant handwriting and the address within Yuzhou City.
This was the first time she had a precise location where she could find Chu Xingchen.
She took the paper and tucked it into her sleeve:
"Is there anything else?"
Chu Xingchen stood up, "No, that's all. I'll wait for your good news."
With that, he prepared to leave.
"Wait... Before you go, leave me the poem you just recited."
"What poem?"
"Chu Xingchen!"
"Alright, I'll write it down!"