“Is she leaving?” Shen Zaiye frowned.
Xu Yangui, rubbing his still-aching chest, retorted, “Weren’t you confident she wouldn’t leave? Why ask now?”
“Xu Yangui,” Shen Zaiye’s face darkened. “Can’t you speak properly?”
“No,” Xu Yangui groaned, flopping onto the soft couch. “I’ve just been beaten up, and now I have to face your debt-collecting expression. I’m done!”
“Beaten up?” Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow, scanning him. “That’s unusual. Who could thrash you like this?”
Rolling his eyes irritably, Xu Yangui said, “You’d better start praying that deity doesn’t find out what you did to Jiang Taohua. With his reckless nature, he might kill you.”
Shen Zaiye scoffed, sitting beside him. “If strong martial arts were enough to kill me, I’d have died countless times by now.”
Countless people wanted him dead, yet no one had succeeded in all these years. It wasn’t just his fighting skills; brute force alone was useless in many situations.
“Fine, I know you’re impressive,” Xu Yangui shrugged. “Worst case, he can’t kill you, and you can’t touch him. Jiang Taohua will decide in between.”
Shen Zaiye gritted his teeth, wondering about her decision. Too proud to ask directly, he glared at Xu Yangui.
“Don’t look at me. I heard nothing,” Xu Yangui closed his eyes. “They spotted me as soon as I got close. I have no idea what they said. But it seems Jiang Taohua doesn’t plan to leave.”
Hearing this, Shen Zaiye’s brow relaxed slightly. He stood up, saying, “In that case, go rest. If you’re badly hurt, get medicine from the pharmacy.”
“Heartless!” Xu Yangui rose angrily, clutching his sore chest as he headed to Wenqing Pavilion. Everyone in this mansion was cold-blooded; only Gu Huairou was kind! Though dawn was breaking, he decided to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with her.
Shen Zaiye finally slept, though his dreams were uneasy. In a hazy white mist, Jiang Taohua sat in the lap of a Buddha statue, looking at him coldly. “My lord, do you regret it?”
“Regret what?” Shen Zaiye frowned.
“Regretting trying to kill me,” Taohua smiled mirthlessly. “If only you had succeeded. Alas, I survived. And as long as I live, I’ll resent you.”
Startled, Shen Zaiye hurried over, instinctively explaining, “I never meant to kill you. I was trying to save you…”
“Liar!” Jiang Taohua glared, sneering, “If I truly threatened your grand plans, wouldn’t you kill me?”
“I wouldn’t,” Shen Zaiye heard his inner voice, but couldn’t speak it aloud. As he hesitated, the Buddha statue behind Jiang Taohua transformed into a man wearing a bright red peony robe, his silver hair flowing freely as he embraced her.
“You’re unhappy here,” Qian Baimei said. “Come with me.”
“Alright,” Taohua nodded, turning to hug the man’s waist. They began to leave.
“Jiang Taohua!” Shen Zaiye chased after them. “Stop!”
She seemed deaf to his words, vanishing quickly. Shen Zaiye felt a void in his heart, reaching out but grasping nothing.
He jolted awake, his chest heavy. After catching his breath, he frowned at the window. It was already dawn.
Wiping his face, Shen Zaiye stared outside for a while before suddenly remembering something. He quickly got up, washed, threw on a cloak, and headed to Zhengchun Pavilion.
As day broke, servants were already bustling about the mansion. Opening Zhengchun Pavilion’s main door, no one rushed out to greet him as usual.
Looking up, he saw a daybed in the courtyard center. Qian Baimei and Jiang Taohua sat cross-legged, facing each other, completely still.
Squinting, Shen Zaiye approached, noticing Jiang Taohua seemed to be in a trance, her eyes unmoving. But when he turned to Qian Baimei, the latter gave him a cool glance, saying softly, “Don’t disturb her.”
What were they doing? Practicing seduction techniques? Shen Zaiye felt very displeased. The nightmare’s aftereffects hadn’t faded, and seeing these two together so early in the morning irritated him greatly.
But who knew if interrupting their practice might cause trouble? After some thought, Shen Zaiye decided to wait patiently until Jiang Taohua came to her senses.
“Too lax,” Qian Baimei shook his head. “How long have you neglected your practice?”
Smiling sheepishly, Taohua said softly, “Even after neglecting it for so long, didn’t I still manage to trap you for a moment, Master?”
“With just this little skill, you can only take advantage of me,” Qian Baimei tapped her forehead, sighing. “Against someone more formidable, they wouldn’t be so considerate. Once they see through your intentions, they’d be on guard.”
Taohua nodded, agreeing. As she turned, she suddenly noticed Shen Zaiye standing silently behind her.
Startled, Taohua quickly went to greet him, blinking as she asked, “My lord, why are you here so early?”
He wanted to ask them the same thing, gathering together so early in the morning. Did they even consider him anymore? But as he looked down, he noticed the bloodshot in her eyes and frowned, “Didn’t you sleep last night?”
Rubbing her eyes, Taohua replied, “I just stayed up a bit. Master was checking my progress today.”
“If you haven’t learned well, it’s because he didn’t teach properly,” Shen Zaiye said. “Was it necessary to lose sleep over practice?”
“What kind of talk is that?” Qian Baimei raised an eyebrow, lifting his chin to look at him. “Haven’t you heard ‘the master opens the door, but the disciple walks through it’?”
“What you teach isn’t worth learning anyway,” Shen Zaiye said, leading Taohua toward the main room. “Let her get some proper sleep.”
Qian Baimei swiftly moved to block their path, grabbing Taohua’s arm. He glared at Shen Zaiye, clearly displeased. “What do you mean it’s not worth learning? I don’t like that tone. Shall we have a match?”
“Your martial arts are superior; I’m no match for you,” Shen Zaiye eyed him. “But if you don’t think teaching her these skills is useful, why not let her try them on me? See what use they have?”
“Fine,” Qian Baimei nodded, pulling Taohua over. He said seriously, “Go and extract information from him.”
Taohua looked confused, glancing between Shen Zaiye and her master. “What information?”
“Anything he wouldn’t normally say, or any secrets he has. Use your soul-capturing technique to get it all out of him,” Qian Baimei narrowed his eyes. “Better yet, ask him what he’s most afraid of telling others. Let him see just how useful the soul-capturing technique is.”
Taohua hesitated, sneaking a glance at Shen Zaiye, who had already seated himself casually on the daybed.
Left with no choice, she followed, sitting cross-legged across from him. She grinned foolishly, “My lord, you asked for this. Don’t blame me.”
“Mm,” Shen Zaiye replied expressionlessly. “Do as you wish.”
He knew her soul-capturing technique wouldn’t work as long as he remained on guard.
Qian Baimei sat aside to watch. He knew exactly how skilled his little disciple was; no man could resist her.
However, Shen Zaiye was no ordinary man. After an incense stick’s time had passed, his eyes remained clear, showing only slight distraction.
“My lord,” Taohua looked into his eyes. “Stop resisting and submit to me.”
Shen Zaiye chuckled, “What do you want to ask?”
“I can only ask once you’re fully focused,” Taohua smiled softly, her eyes shimmering like rippling water, drawing him in.
Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, his gaze finally softening, losing focus as he sank into her eyes.
“Where do you keep your private funds?” Taohua asked.
Qian Baimei, who was drinking tea, nearly spat it out. He looked at Jiang Taohua apprehensively, “Can’t you ask something normal?”
Shen Zaiye answered blankly, “In the accounting office.”
Well done, Taohua gestured for her master to stay calm, then continued, “Do you have romantic feelings for Lu Zhilan?”
“No.”
“Then…” Taohua smiled, “Do you like me?”
Shen Zaiye paused for a moment, then nodded, “Yes.”
“How much?”
“Very much.”
Taohua grinned, her eyes sparkling. She asked again, “Are you from the State of Wu?”
Shen Zaiye’s eyes sharpened as he regained consciousness, glaring at her coldly.
Shocked at how quickly he’d awakened, Taohua recoiled, “Did you hear that?”
Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, frowning slightly. He closed his eyes and said, “I let my guard down and fell for your trick again.”
Taohua laughed nervously, trying to scramble off the daybed to escape, but her master caught her by the collar.
“It’s because her skills are incomplete,” Qian Baimei looked at Shen Zaiye, his eyes devoid of mockery. Instead, he calmly said, “Precisely because her skills are lacking, she must continue to work hard. As for whether the soul-capturing technique is useful or not, that’s a matter of personal opinion.”
“Mm,” Shen Zaiye nodded, glancing at the person in Qian Baimei’s grasp. Still displeased, he snatched her back and ushered her into the main room.
“Get some good sleep,” he said. “I’ll continue talking with your master.”
“Talk about what?” Taohua rubbed her eyes, worried. “Don’t try his soul-capturing technique. It’s far more powerful than mine. Be careful, or you might fall in love with him.”
“Nonsense!” Shen Zaiye pulled the blanket over her. “Just sleep!”
Pouting, Taohua yawned. She was truly tired and soon fell into a deep slumber. Shen Zaiye stood up, closed the door, and returned to the courtyard.
“You’re an interesting man,” Qian Baimei leaned against a pillar, watching him. He smiled, “You answered all the previous questions. Why not just answer the last one too? Might as well keep up the act to the end.”
(End of Chapter)