HomeSheng Shi Di FeiChapter 75: Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower

Chapter 75: Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower

Deep in the woods outside Jingling Temple, Mo Xiu Yao sat alone in his wheelchair, resting with his eyes closed. The fading sunlight filtered through the treetops onto his form, bringing a hint of warmth to the still-chilly early spring air.

“Xiu Yao.” As Ye Li approached, she saw the thin, tired features of the man resting in the wheelchair, and her heart trembled with involuntary guilt and concern. Mo Xiu Yao opened his eyes and looked up at her, startled for a moment before smiling: “No wonder so many people couldn’t find A-Li. If I hadn’t looked carefully, I might not have recognized you in this appearance either.”

Ye Li walked up to him, looking at Mo Xiu Yao’s understanding smile, and said solemnly, “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Is A-Li still not ready to return?” Mo Xiu Yao asked softly, his gaze calm and gentle as he looked at Ye Li.

Ye Li shook her head, looking at him: “I want to go to the Southern Frontier.”

Mo Xiu Yao frowned, “If A-Li is worried about Brother Xu, I can send Feng San to assist him in the Southern Frontier.” Ye Li shook her head: “Leng Hao Yu isn’t in the capital, and only Feng Zhi Yao and Steward Mo are here helping you. How could you possibly send Feng Zhi Yao away? Besides, now isn’t a good time for me to return, is it?” Returning now would inevitably mean having to clarify who was behind the palace incident. As Mo Jing Li had said, even for the sake of the Ding Guo Prince Manor’s face, they couldn’t let the person who kidnapped the Ding Guo Princess Consort go unpunished. And once the Ding Guo Prince Manor targeted Mo Jing Li, Mo Jing Qi would be the one to benefit. It was better this way – the Ding Guo Princess Consort’s disappearance from the palace, by both reason and emotion, put the Ding Guo Prince Manor in the right. Let Mo Jing Li and Mo Jing Qi fight among themselves. Though Mo Jing Li knew she had escaped, he still had to swallow this loss – after all, he could hardly admit that he had kidnapped the Ding Wang Princess Consort and then let her escape, could he?

“If A-Li finds the capital boring, you could go to Yun Province. When things are settled, I’ll come to bring you back to the capital, alright?” Mo Xiu Yao pulled Ye Li closer, looking up as he asked.

Ye Li bit her vermillion lips lightly, looking firmly at Mo Xiu Yao. She knew this man wanted to protect her, but even though she was moved by his warmth, she wasn’t by nature a weak woman who could stand behind a man and watch others risk their lives. Moreover, it wasn’t just for Mo Xiu Yao – her own family was caught up in this strife, her elder brother. In the foreseeable future, there might also be her beloved uncle and elderly grandfather.

“I’ll take guards with me and won’t risk myself needlessly,” Ye Li softly refused Mo Xiu Yao’s suggestion.

Clear disappointment could be seen in Mo Xiu Yao’s gentle eyes, and Ye Li quickly looked away. After half a year together, she had gradually grown accustomed to Mo Xiu Yao’s gentle, calm voice and presence. Mo Xiu Yao rarely made any requests of her, but Ye Li suddenly realized that even the few requests Mo Xiu Yao did make, she had rarely fulfilled. Counting up, it seemed she wasn’t a qualified good wife in any sense. “A-Li, I’m sorry. It’s all because of me…”

“No!” Ye Li interrupted his words, “I know that if I wanted to, I could stay somewhere safe, and you would arrange everything for me. But… Xiu Yao, I don’t want that. I don’t want to hide behind you. If I’m destined to spend my life with someone, I hope I can stand beside him, not hide under his wings. Do you… understand?”

Mo Xiu Yao’s fingers trembled almost imperceptibly, and after a long while, he said softly: “Then… be careful. A-Li.” With that, he took out a warm jade pendant tied with a red silk cord and placed it in Ye Li’s hand, smiling faintly: “Keep it safe, don’t lose it.”

Ye Li played with the warm jade in her hand, a supreme grade mutton-fat white jade carved into the dragon son Yazi. Even carved in gentle white jade, one could still feel the dragon son’s dominance and arrogance, and Yazi’s fierce killing intent. Ye Li held it in her hand, looking at Mo Xiu Yao, “This?”

Mo Xiu Yao smiled faintly: “An ancestral jade pendant, I’d been meaning to give it to A-Li for a while. Don’t lose it – like the Lan Yun sword, it’s a family heirloom.”

Ye Li remained silent, quietly putting away the jade pendant.

Watching Ye Li’s silhouette disappear beyond the woods, the gentle smile gradually faded from Mo Xiu Yao’s face. Lowering his gaze to his long-crippled legs, waves of killing intent and unwillingness surged in his calm eyes.

“Bang!” With a wave of his hand, a thick tree trunk nearby snapped with a crack. Mo Xiu Yao coughed lightly, leaning back against the wheelchair with an exhausted expression, breathing slightly heavily. “Indeed… useless…”

“In Your Highness’s current condition, it’s best not to anger yourself needlessly.” Shen Yang emerged from the woods, frowning at the broken tree trunk on the ground. Approaching Mo Xiu Yao, he saw, as expected, spots of crimson on the snow-white handkerchief in his hand. A Jin followed behind Shen Yang, looking worriedly at Mo Xiu Yao.

“The Princess Consort is a very special woman. Your Highness should be happy to have married such a Princess Consort,” Shen Yang remarked thoughtfully, glancing in the direction Ye Li had gone.

Mo Xiu Yao said coldly: “You mean this prince should be happy about letting his Princess Consort risk herself in person?”

Shen Yang looked at his hands tightly gripped on his knees, and unusually spoke as an elder: “Although it might hurt Your Highness’s pride somewhat, I think the Princess Consort doesn’t need too much protection from Your Highness. Isn’t the Princess Consort’s current appearance far more genuine and moving than when she was kept precious in the manor? Or does the Ding Wang, like common mortals, prefer a woman who depends on you like a parasitic vine?”

“Enough.” Mo Xiu Yao said deeply, “This prince knows what to do. Return to the manor!”

A Jin stepped forward to push Mo Xiu Yao towards the other side of the woods, while Shen Yang shook his head and followed.

At Li Wang Manor

Mo Jing Li sat in his study, glaring darkly at the person kneeling before him. “You’re saying you still haven’t found any trace of Ye Li?”

The middle-aged man kneeling on the ground felt Mo Jing Li’s anger and inwardly cursed his bad luck. “Your Highness, forgive me. Your servant has had people thoroughly search the area within a hundred li of where the Princess Consort disappeared, but we haven’t found any trace of her.”

Mo Jing Li snorted coldly, “Ye Li hasn’t returned to either the Ding Wang Manor or the Ye and Xu families. Could she have flown away or vanished into the earth?” The middle-aged man hurriedly said: “Your Highness, although we tampered with the horses, the Princess Consort seems to have discovered this. She had the horses run in two directions, east and west, leading our tracking men astray. So… now…”

“So now you’re telling this prince that your brains are inferior to a woman’s?” Mo Jing Li sneered mockingly.

The middle-aged man lowered his head in shame, but couldn’t help thinking: Was the Princess Consort an ordinary woman? Your Highness has suffered setbacks at her hands more than once or twice, so isn’t it understandable that we failed?

“Get out! Watch the Ding Wang Manor carefully for this prince. This prince refuses to believe Ye Li won’t return!” After driving out his subordinate, Mo Jing Li fell into deep thought. Ye Li’s escape without returning to the manor was indeed beyond Mo Jing Li’s expectations. But he didn’t know whether he should feel relieved or angry. The choice was like having to choose between facing the Ding Guo Prince Manor or his emperor brother. If Ye Li returned safely to the Ding Wang Manor, then neither he nor Mo Xiu Yao would have any room to retreat. At that time, the one to benefit would still be his emperor brother sitting on the dragon throne. And now… Mo Xiu Yao was busy searching everywhere for Ye Li, occasionally causing trouble for Mo Jing Qi on his behalf, so he should take this opportunity… but if he and Mo Jing Qi both suffered losses…

“Your Highness, what’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?” A pretty young woman walked out from the inner chamber, looking at Mo Jing Li with smiling eyes.

“Ye Li still hasn’t returned to the manor. Your tracking drug was useless, and now Ye Li has disappeared.” Mo Jing Li looked at the lovely young maiden before him and said deeply. Xiao Yun, now looking even more charming having changed out of her plain maid’s clothes, flashed a strange look in her eyes and exclaimed in surprise: “This Princess Consort has some skill. The soul-tracking incense I used is undetectable even to the most famous poison masters.” Tilting her head and playing with her small braid, Xiao Yun blinked at Mo Jing Li and said: “Do you need me to go find the Princess Consort? I’m sure I can find her.”

Mo Jing Li glanced at her, “Find her? If you found her, could you even come back?” After several encounters, Mo Jing Li felt he still couldn’t fully gauge Ye Li’s depths, and those four guards around her were not ordinary either. With just Xiao Yun alone, she’d be killed without even her bones being found. “You stay honestly in the prince’s manor and don’t run around. If you ruin this prince’s plans, this prince won’t care about explaining to your sister.” Xiao Yun bit her lip corner, glaring resentfully at Mo Jing Li. Unfortunately, Mo Jing Li was not one to cherish tender beauty – he snorted coldly and picked up a book scroll from the table, lowering his head to read, completely ignoring Xiao Yun. Xiao Yun’s bright eyes rolled, and she walked to Mo Jing Li’s side, laughing softly: “Brother Jing Li, shall I help you poison Mo Xiu Yao and the emperor to death?”

“If you want to die, go ahead and try.” Mo Jing Li said. Did she think no one had tried to assassinate Mo Xiu Yao with poison in all these years? Yet Mo Xiu Yao, dragging his sickly crippled body, was still living well to this day. Instead, those assassins had long since gone to never return, their corpses lying who knows where.

In Guangling City, Jiangnan

Compared to the biting cold spring in the north, early March in Jiangnan was already a scene of blooming flowers and thriving vitality. Guangling City was the largest city in the south, and also the former dynasty’s old capital. Although the previous dynasty had long since vanished, Guangling City’s position as the southern center of politics, economy, and culture had not been shaken. Moreover, because the founding emperor had also once established his capital here in the early years, although the capital later moved north, Guangling City was preserved as a secondary capital. Compared to Chu Capital’s political and military status, Guangling City leaned more towards culture and economy – three of the four great merchants of Da Chu resided in Guangling City, showing how Guangling’s prosperity far exceeded that of the northern Chu Capital.

In the night, Ye Li leisurely strolled along the perfume-scented, bustling streets. Both sides of the street were filled with the clamor of wine and rouge, while the sounds of decadent string and bamboo music drifted to her ears. An San followed Ye Li awkwardly, occasionally pushing away the enthusiastic, gentle beauties who tried to pull at him and his mistress, inwardly lamenting his fate. If he had known the Princess Consort would come to such places, he would never have fought with the leader to switch shifts. Woe… if His Highness found out he had accompanied the Princess Consort to brothels, he would surely kill him.

Ye Li walked while occasionally turning back to enjoy An San’s predicament. Just when An San was about to break down, she finally stopped and said with a smile, “We’re here.”

An San breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the roadside. In the night, an elegant pavilion stood by the quiet lakeside, with characters written in flying dragon and dancing phoenix style on the plaque above the door—Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower.

As a secret guard specially trained by the Ding Guo Prince Manor, An San naturally knew what the Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower was. The number one brothel in the world, reportedly having the finest wine, the best delicacies, and the most beautiful and talented women. This was every man’s dream paradise, where they would willingly lose themselves in tender affection. “Young Master?”

Ye Li looked at him, raising her eyebrows with a smile: “What? Is the world’s finest establishment not to your taste?”

An San smiled bitterly, “Young Master, are we going in?”

Ye Li laughed, “Did you think I brought you here for a stroll? Come on.” With a flourish of her folding fan, Ye Li entered the Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower with a smile.

As befitting its status as the world’s premier brothel, the Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower naturally had its extraordinary aspects. Upon entering the main hall, they were not greeted by a garishly made-up madam, but by two young women with lightly drawn eyebrows and elegant makeup. Seeing Ye Li in ice-blue brocade robes embroidered with silver cloud patterns, a supreme-grade jade pendant inlaid in her white belt, holding a folding fan with a relaxed bearing that clearly showed extraordinary breeding, they hurriedly came forward, “Greetings, Young Master. This Young Master looks unfamiliar—is this your first visit to Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower?”

Ye Li nodded with a smile: “Indeed, this young master has just arrived in Jiangnan. Having long admired Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower’s reputation, I wished to experience it firsthand.”

The woman smiled: “Young Master’s presence truly brings honor to our humble establishment. Please, let us first escort you to a private room to enjoy some song and dance while you see if anything catches your interest.”

Ye Li smiled: “I’ve heard your establishment excels in more than just song and dance. Perhaps the lady could introduce some interesting diversions?”

The woman, being in charge of receiving guests at Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower, was naturally a perceptive person. She glanced at Ye Li, noting that despite the noble dress and bearing, the age couldn’t be more than thirteen. While some thirteen-year-old youths might be interested in tender beauties, others hadn’t yet awakened to such interests. Seeing the young master’s dignified and proud expression, she guessed this must be some family’s young master out seeking entertainment. The woman covered her smile and said: “If the young master isn’t interested in our Moon Tower’s ladies, they would be heartbroken. Our Moon Tower’s ladies indeed excel in more than song and dance, but I wonder what the young master prefers?”

Ye Li frowned: “This young master originally wanted to try some gambling, but Guangling City’s gambling houses are far too noisy. The mix of all sorts of people is quite dispiriting.”

The woman smiled subtly and said: “In that case, please follow this humble servant.”

An San, playing a wooden post behind Ye Li, moved his lips to say something but closed them sheepishly under Ye Li’s warm, spring-like smile. After entering a brothel, what was there to fear about a gambling house?

The Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower’s gambling hall was naturally different from ordinary gambling houses—from the serving of tea to the banking, all were handled by women. Upon entering the main hall, the first sight was a beautiful woman in purple robes gently shaking a dice cup. Many gamblers had gathered around her. Ye Li smiled—betting on big or small was the simplest but also the most classic game in gambling houses, and with a stunning beauty as the banker, it naturally attracted countless people to eagerly stake their silver.

The guide naturally noticed Ye Li’s gaze and immediately explained with a smile: “This lady is Ru Mei, one of Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower’s twelve top courtesans. She’s most skilled at dice rolling. Even our tower master praises her technique.” The woman then thoughtfully explained some details about the gambling hall to Ye Li. For instance, three of Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower’s twelve top courtesans dealt in this gambling hall. Moreover, these three ladies were “pure courtesans”—only those who could defeat them in gambling could become their patrons. So far, no one has succeeded.

Ye Li couldn’t help but laugh—Han Ming Yue was indeed clever at making money. Most men visited brothels for beauty. But those who could enter Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower were mostly wealthy and noble, having seen all sorts of beauty. Setting up such a gambling hall naturally held more appeal than ordinary gambling houses. Men all had a desire to conquer, and those wealthy men with time to spare wouldn’t hesitate to spend fortunes for a chance at intimacy.

“An San, what do you think of Lady Ru Mei?” Ye Li pointed her folding fan at the woman in purple robes and asked with a smile.

An San tried hard not to let his face contort, answering woodenly: “Young Master, she is naturally a beauty.”

“Mm, I think so too.” Propping her chin with the folding fan, Ye Li smiled: “Why don’t we place a few bets? Perhaps we could…”

“Young Master, your… family would be displeased,” An San reminded through gritted teeth.

“I know, so… I’ll give you the chance for intimacy,” Ye Li said with a beaming smile, watching An San’s face turn black as ink as she walked toward the gambling table in high spirits.

Lady Ru Mei shook the dice cup with a smile on her lips as she watched the gamblers gathered around. The greed and desire in these men’s eyes filled her with contempt, though her face showed only more alluring smiles. The suddenly approaching Ye Li made her pause—a young master of no more than thirteen or fourteen, wearing high-quality clothes and accessories that showed his noble birth. The youth’s clear eyes made her feel this young man was different from others. She flashed him a brilliant smile, “Young Master, care to place a bet?”

Ye Li tilted her head to look around. As expected of the world’s premier establishment’s gambling hall, the minimum bet on the table was fifty taels—these wealthy people’s casual gambling money was enough for ordinary people to live on for most of a year. The surrounding gamblers, seeing that the newcomer was just a milk-drinking child, revealed contemptuous and mocking looks in their eyes, with many making jeering sounds. Ye Li paid no mind, smilingly taking out a fifty-tael silver ingot and throwing it on the table, saying with a smile: “I bet big!”

Ru Mei swept her smiling gaze across the surrounding gamblers. In gambling halls, wealthy merchants and nobles were no different from peddlers, all joining in the clamor, “Big! Big!”

“Small! Small! Small…”

Ru Mei’s vermillion lips curled slightly as she raised her hand to lift the dice cup pressed on the table, saying with a smile: “Two, four, four—small.”

Some rejoiced while others grieved. Ye Li didn’t mind the lost fifty taels of silver, patiently waiting for the next round. This time she again bet fifty taels, still on big. Another reveal, still small. For the third round, Ye Li increased to two hundred taels, still betting big. Dice rolling didn’t take much time—in just a quarter hour, Ye Li had lost nearly two thousand taels. The surrounding gamblers looked with some surprise at this generous young master, speculating which family’s young master this might be.

“Young Master, betting again?” Ru Mei asked, smiling at Ye Li.

Ye Li raised her hand backward. An San, standing behind Ye Li, obediently took out a stack of silver notes and handed them to Ye Li. The various silver notes totaled twenty thousand taels. An San watched painfully as Ye Li threw the silver notes onto the table with all the flair of a wealthy young master, his heart twitching. The Ding Guo Prince Manor was wealthy, true, but they didn’t have much money now! When leaving the capital, his master had only brought twenty thousand taels in silver notes and some loose silver. Twenty thousand taels was a lot, enough for their party of five to travel comfortably to the Southern Frontier several times. But in a gambling hall, twenty thousand taels wasn’t much. At his master’s current pace, it wouldn’t even last an hour.

Ye Li increased her bet to five hundred taels.

“Is the young master betting big or small?” Ru Mei asked.

Ye Li smiled: “This young master doesn’t like small, still betting big.”

The other gamblers all placed their bets in the opposite direction—anyone with eyes could see how terrible this young master’s luck had been. After losing about ten thousand more taels, Ye Li finally smiled with satisfaction. When Ru Mei covered the dice cup again, she shook her head with a smile: “This time, I’ll pass.” Amidst the crowd’s jeers and clamor, Ru Mei lifted the cup, “Three sixes, house wins!” The whole hall erupted in wails.

Another round began, and Ye Li had raised her bet to one thousand taels per round. Unlike her previous misfortune, Ye Li now seemed divinely blessed.

“Small!”

The cup lifted—one, two, four: small!

“Big!”

Five, five, six: big!

“Big!”

In less than half an hour, the table in front of Ye Li was piled high with thick stacks of silver notes and ingots. An San had found a chair somewhere for Ye Li to sit on. Ye Li leaned back comfortably in the chair, watching Ru Mei’s increasingly pale face with a beaming smile, pushing forward her silver notes with an innocent expression, “Thirty thousand taels, small!”

Ru Mei’s delicate fingers paused for a moment before slowly lifting the dice cup. Everyone stared intently as the cup slowly left the table surface, “One, one, two—small!”

Standing behind Ye Li, An San worriedly watched the growing pile of silver notes on the table. Earlier he had worried about his mistress losing all their money and having to slink back to the capital, but now he worried that winning too much might prevent them from leaving Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower at all.

Supporting her chin with her hand, Ye Li watched Ru Mei’s movements with casual ease, “All in. Big!”

The crowd gasped—the silver notes and ingots in front of Ye Li totaled over a hundred thousand taels. A correct bet would mean a full purse, but a wrong one would mean losing over a hundred thousand taels down the drain. Even among the wealthy present, few dared to bet a hundred thousand taels at once. After all, their silver wasn’t falling from the sky but earned through hard work. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ru Mei’s flawless jade-like forehead, her beautiful eyes fixed on Ye Li filled with shock and scrutiny. Under everyone’s gaze, she slowly reached out to lift the cup. The crowd cried out, “Triple threes!”

Ru Mei’s hand trembled, her face as white as paper.

“The young master is formidable,” Ru Mei said, her expression bleak.

Ye Li smiled without speaking. Years ago, for an undercover mission, she had specifically studied gambling techniques with a gambling master for several months. He had even praised her talent. Moreover, with her eyesight and hearing, Ru Mei couldn’t possibly cheat in front of her. Of course, Ye Li believed that in a place like Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower, the house wouldn’t cheat for just a hundred thousand taels. That would too greatly damage Han Ming Yue’s and Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower’s reputation. However, if she kept winning, that might change—after all, Han Ming Yue’s reputation for loving money seemed as famous as his Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower.

“Young Master, our tower master requests your presence inside for a chat.” Just as Ye Li was hesitating whether to continue, a young man who looked like a manager came out and bowed to Ye Li with a smile.

Ye Li’s eyes sparkled as she smiled: “An invitation from Master Ming Yue? This young master is thrice blessed. However… Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower wouldn’t murder for money, would they?”

The young man’s mouth twitched, his smile somewhat forced, “The young master jests.”

Ye Li stood up, casually stuffing the silver notes into An San, then brushed off her clothes and smiled: “Please lead the way.”

The young man led Ye Li and An San through to a small courtyard behind the gambling hall. Gauzy veils draped the lakeside pavilion, where pleasing zither music flowed melodiously.

“Tower Master.”

“You may withdraw. Young Master, why not come in for a chat?” The zither music paused, and a deep, pleasant male voice came from within the pavilion. Ye Li’s eyebrows raised slightly at the sound. Watching the young man respectfully withdraw, Ye Li laughed heartily: “An invitation from Tower Master Ming Yue is my greatest honor.” With that, she gave An San a look to stay outside, then stepped forward to lift the layers of gauze and entered.

Inside the pavilion, a handsome man in dark red brocade lounged lazily by the zither table, his fine features flowing with a bewitching quality. Seeing Ye Li enter, he raised his eyebrows and smiled: “Who would have thought the one to defeat Ru Mei would be such a young master? Truly a rare young talent. Might I know the young master’s distinguished name?”

Ye Li smiled: “You flatter me. My humble skills aren’t worth mentioning. My surname is Chu, given name Jun Wei.”

“Chu Jun Wei? A fine name. However… I haven’t heard of any Chu family in Da Chu with a young master of such bearing. If you were from the Chu clan of Xi Ling… but looking at your features, you don’t appear to be from Xi Ling.”

Han Ming Yue scrutinized Ye Li while speaking. Ye Li remained unconcerned, finding a place to sit down comfortably, smiling: “We’re a modest family, not worthy of Master Ming Yue’s attention.”

Han Ming Yue snorted lightly: “A modest family? You don’t look it to me.”

Ye Li fanned herself, smiling composedly: “What’s strange about that? To me, you don’t look like the legendary Master Ming Yue either.”

“Oh?” Han Ming Shi raised his eyebrows with interest, though a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, “I wonder what kind of person Young Master Chu has heard Master Ming Yue be?”

Ye Li smiled: “I’ve heard Master Ming Yue is elegant and graceful, extraordinarily handsome. A rare gentleman in this world.”

Han Ming Shi frowned in apparent displeasure: “Has this one disappointed Young Master Chu?”

Ye Li lowered her eyes and smiled: “From what I know, Master Ming Yue would never sit so casually before strangers as you do.” Looking at the handsome man lounging indolently by the zither table with a rakish air, Ye Li couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Judging by appearance alone, Han Ming Yue and Han Ming Shi were at least eighty percent similar. If one truly wanted to deceive others, it might not be impossible. However, the person before her had no intention of hiding—or perhaps he didn’t think a thirteen or fourteen-year-old stranger would have met Han Ming Yue in person. Unfortunately for him, she had not only met Han Ming Yue but Han Ming Shi as well.

“So Young Master Chu is certain I’m not Han Ming Yue?” Han Ming Shi stood up, his eyes cold as he stared unblinkingly at Ye Li.

Ye Li smiled: “Why should you be angry? You lured me in here using Master Ming Yue’s name—shouldn’t I be the angry one?”

Han Ming Shi gave a cold laugh, “Why put on an act, Young Master Chu? Wasn’t your grand display in the Moon Tower meant to attract the tower master’s attention? Why not tell me what you’re after? If I’m in a good mood, I might agree.”

Ye Li raised an eyebrow, “Can you make decisions for Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower? Or rather… can you make decisions for the Tian Yi Pavilion?”

At the words “Tian Yi Pavilion,” Han Ming Shi’s gaze shot toward Ye Li like a sword, his rakish handsome face instantly gaining several degrees of coldness, “Who exactly are you?” In this world, many knew of the Tian Yi Pavilion, and even more knew of Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower. But those who knew that the masters of Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower and Tian Yi Pavilion were the same person were absolutely few.

Ye Li lowered her head: “Before you question me, shouldn’t you first tell me whether you can make decisions or not? If I waste my breath talking only to find you can’t make decisions, wouldn’t that be wasting both our time?”

Han Ming Shi glared at Ye Li, snorting lightly: “Han Ming Yue isn’t in Jiangnan right now. I can make decisions for both Clear Wind Bright Moon Tower and Tian Yi Pavilion. Is that clear enough?”

Ye Li clapped her hands and smiled, “That’s excellent. May I know your name?”

“Han Ming Shi.” Han Ming Shi said through gritted teeth. He certainly wouldn’t tell the other his nickname, after all, the title of “Master of Romance” wasn’t a good reputation for either men or women.

Ye Li raised her hand to rub her brow, pondering: “So you’re Master Ming Yue’s… brother? No wonder you look so similar.”

“You’ve met my elder brother?” Han Ming Shi frowned at her.

Ye Li maintained her composure, smiling: “Well… I had the fortune to meet Master Ming Yue once in his youth. I have a good memory and have long admired Master Ming Yue’s bearing.”

Han Ming Shi pursed his lips. His elder brother had indeed been quite prominent in his youth, though mainly in Chu Capital, so people in Jiangnan didn’t know much about it. However… was this kid even five years old back then?

Ye Li ignored whatever Han Ming Shi might be thinking, “I’ve come from afar, yet you won’t even offer tea. This isn’t how one treats guests.”

Han Ming Shi stared at her for a long while, slowly pulling his lips into a sinister smile, “You want tea? Fine. Do you have a request? Also fine. But first, you’ll have to defeat me!

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