She walked on tiptoe to Bai Molian's guest room. Before she could knock, she noticed the door was left slightly ajar.
It wasn't locked after all. She gave it a gentle push, and the door creaked open. As she lifted her foot to step inside, before her heel even touched the floor, a strong, muscular arm pulled her right in.
A heavy wave of alcohol washed over her. The man was none other than Bai Molian.
His fair face flushed with a distinct, vivid red. Calling out the name "Xinxin," he pulled her straight into his arms.
Was he mistaking her for some lover of his?
Yuling was just about to speak up and clarify that she was no "Xinxin," but her vocal cords felt weak and completely unresponsive. No matter how hard she tried, not a single syllable came out. The vocal cords in her throat were numb and paralyzed, refusing to vibrate.
What on earth was going on?!
Before she could devise a countermeasure for this sudden turn of events, the man's warm lips pressed firmly against the corner of her mouth, cushioned only by a plain silk handkerchief.
In a panic, she could only turn her head to the side, using all her strength to push him away by the cheek. But the intoxicated man was too strong; with a roll, he pinned her down on the soft golden silk bed.
She channeled her inner energy through her left hand, causing a translucent Crystal Stone to materialize, its faint purple light beginning to flicker.
The man didn't notice the movement of her hand behind his back.
His hazy eyes gazed at her as he murmured inquiringly, "Xinxin?"
Suddenly, her hearing seemed to be blocked off as well. She could only watch the man's lips part and close as if he were saying something, yet she couldn't hear a single sound.
Yuling prepared to gather ten percent of her inner strength to deal him a blow that would sober him up.
The man blinked, his whisper barely audible: "Who on earth is it that you truly love in your heart?"
Reading his lips, Yuling guessed the gist of it. She assumed he must have run up some unresolved romantic debts with some young lady or other out there, but there was no reason for her to take the blame for someone else.
The man's wits seemed to clear a bit as he snatched the plain silk handkerchief off her face: "Yuling? Why is it you?"
He stood up, but the woman had already retracted the Crystal Stone into her body a step ahead of him.
She pointed at her throat, opening her mouth to babble and make gestures, but no sound came out.
The man chuckled softly, understanding the situation immediately.
He produced a tiny round pill, had her swallow it, and explained: "This is the antidote for the specially made silent tea of Luyin Pavilion. Whenever important military and state officials visit the pavilion to discuss vital matters, every room is supplied with this cooling tea to temporarily block hearing and speech functions, preventing any leakage of confidential information. Combined with the sleep-inducing sandalwood incense in the guest rooms, it ensures every ordinary guest can sleep soundly through the night. The medicine only lasts for six hours—just about the time it takes for a good nap."
After swallowing the pill, she waited for a quarter of an hour before her hearing gradually returned to clarity. Her voice trembled as she spoke, carrying a slight hoarseness: "Thank you, Commander of the Capital Guard. I came to see you this time to discuss another important matter. Do you happen to have time right now?"
"Lady Yuling, please speak your mind." He brushed the stray locks from her forehead. The rainwater on her hair had already dried, but it still carried a faint, slightly salty scent caught from the pouring rain outside and the dust-filled sky. His tone suddenly softened with a trace of heartache: "Remember to take a hot bath when you go back later, and I'll have a maid brew you a hot bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup."
This sudden display of care and consideration made her feel almost entirely uneasy, so she hastily changed the subject: "I want to enter Luyin Pavilion to study vocal music alongside the fairy maidens who played the string and wind instruments at the previous banquet. As for the tuition, you don't need to worry. As the hidden proprietor of East City Tingyu Pavilion, I have plenty of silver, and I will certainly not treat you short in that regard."
He was quite straightforward in return, rubbing the top of her head as he said, "Thirty taels of gold. Absolutely no bargaining."
"Are you trying to rob me blind?! Do ordinary families have to scrape together such a colossal fortune just to enter your Luyin Pavilion to study singing and playing instruments?"
"Of course not. Ordinary women from the town can enter the pavilion for just three gold taels. But you are the proprietor of the venerable Tingyu Pavilion, and you've never touched the musical arts before. Since you want to join the pavilion to study, my Bai Mansion cannot provide you with lodging for nothing. This is the total sum for tuition, meals, and accommodation. As an inn proprietor yourself, you should know that given the lodging environment of the Bai Mansion, asking for this much silver is already a steep discount given our friendship."
Yuling suddenly stood up from her chair and turned to leave: "Deal. Give me ten days. Once I scrape together the gold, I will deliver it to the Bai Mansion myself."
To find Zijing Pavilion, to repair the cracks in the Crystal Stone and preserve her eternal, deathless life spanning ten thousand years, and so that she might one day cultivate immortality and find the Immortal Lord of her dreams—she would endure this!
Watching her spirited, retreating figure turn to leave, he found her quite adorable. Suddenly, he remembered how he had searched everywhere for her in Luyin Pavilion earlier today, only for a confidant of Zijing Pavilion—who had gone to the banquet at Jinlan Cottage alongside City Lord Fang Tianba—to report that she had been spotted at Jinlan Cottage. When the scout went to investigate further, he discovered she had been invited by Prince Zhao for a private meeting.
At the thought of that refined, aloof man, his eyes dimmed slightly. Two thousand years had passed, Yuling—could she still not forget that man?
Two thousand years ago, he had ruthlessly cast her down into the mortal realm, abandoning her without a care. What now? Even though her reincarnated self had long since forgotten his existence, why was he still trying to linger in her mind?
His gaze grew slightly colder, as if an even firmer conviction had settled in his heart.
Thinking of the brief kiss through the handkerchief just moments ago, a slightly bewitching smile curled the corners of his lips—part reminiscence, part lingering attachment, and hard to let go.
From the very first moment he laid eyes on Yuling in Jiangnan, he had recognized her instantly. Although two long millennia had passed, a thousand years ago he had spent a period of time residing within fairy Yuling's body alongside the Crystal Stone, and her aura was the most familiar thing in the world to him. Moreover, before his complete form—the Demon God—was slain, that Crystal Stone had originally been a Spiritual Artifact at his command. Though his death caused the Crystal Stone to choose a new master, he would recognize the true form of that purple crystal within her body at a single glance, even in a vast sea of humanity.
His slender, fair fingers grazed his thin lips, gently stroking them. As if recalling something else once more, ripples and billows stirred deep within his eyes, flashing with a captivating, soul-snaring allure for an instant.
We have a long time ahead of us, Yuling. He thought to herself.
————Dividing Line————
Returning to East City Tingyu Pavilion, Yuling shut herself away in her exclusive "Yumian Pavilion" guest room on the top floor of the inn for a full day and night before finally drafting her latest plan to boost performance and attract customers.
Early in the morning, a fine, pattering rain dripped down from the eaves of Tingyu Pavilion, shattering mercilessly like strings of pearls against the stone steps before the door. The stone steps were covered in lush, fuzzy green moss, and the cold, damp air was hazy with the fresh scent of herbs.
Dawn had yet to break.
She lazily leaned against the ebony door railing, watching the opposite gold-gilded, jewel-inlaid entrance where dignitaries and nobles filed in continuously. The gilded threshold was practically worn down to its outer skin, faintly revealing a bronze foundation underneath.
Steward Li of Jinlan Cottage noticed this and hurriedly called over a few servants to make repairs. A servant from the backyard received the order and rushed over with a bucket of freshly melted gold leaf liquid, taking a large horsehair brush to "re-gild" the threshold.
Oddly enough, Prince Zhao, the proprietor next door, also happened to have some leisure time today, wandering around the first floor of his grand, palatial, high-end banquet inn. The moment he stepped outside, he ran straight into Yuling, who was leaning against the opposite railing and staring fixedly at his inn. The young lady opposite him had bright, piercing eyes, and upon seeing him emerge, she showed not a trace of timidity, straightaway and generously greeting him. Today, she had rarely dressed in a vibrant, bright orange-red thin gauze robe, with orange-red rouge on her lips, looking both radiant and bold.
He paused for a moment. He remembered that in the past, she had always favored low-key, light colors like white, pink, purple, and blue; how was it that her preferences seemed to have changed so drastically now?
Two thousand years.
It really had been far too long.
He sighed, and a warm, genial smile settled back onto his face.
Yuling watched as the man inexplicably smiled at her. She couldn't help but feel a strange sensation in her heart, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Strangely enough, she always felt his smile was so bright, as if it went straight to warm the deepest corners of her heart.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. What was this? Was deploying honey traps now all the rage among business competitors? But she never fell for that sort of trickery. Look at that confident, audacious smile of certain victory on her competitor's face! Could it be that in his eyes, she truly was as humble as a blade of grass, easily crushed with a gentle press, and therefore he adopted such an attitude, never treating her as a serious business rival? Well, of course—he was, after all, the noble Prince Zhao of Bianjing City; how could he possibly lower himself to compete with a mere commoner? As expected, she was still too shallow.
She smiled gracefully, her tone neither servile nor overbearing: "Prince Zhao is up so early! Your esteemed establishment is bustling with activity since early morning, even having its threshold re-gilded time and again—how very lively! No wonder you're so reluctant to leave and so deeply attached to this place. But allow me to offer some well-meaning advice: refreshing this threshold day after day takes so much effort; why not just replace it with a solid block of pure gold? That would be much more convenient. Presumably, such a tiny sliver of silver is just a drop in the ocean to you anyway."
The genial smile on the man's face grew even broader, and he nodded: "Well said. Steward Li! Immediately tear out this old threshold and throw it away, and replace it with one made of solid gold. Everything shall be done according to Lady Yuling's arrangements."
Steward Li wiped the beads of cold sweat popping up on his forehead and hurriedly nodded again and again: "Understood. This humble servant will attend to it right away."
The other servants at the entrance of Jinlan Cottage exchanged glances, feeling utterly bewildered. After all, the person standing right across the street was the proprietor of Tingyu Pavilion. Although the two inns catered to entirely different clienteles, they were still in the same line of work, at least—and a rather low-class peer at that. How could such a common merchant compare in any way to the illustrious Prince Zhao?
Once the Prince had left the inn and returned to his residence, and the proprietor of the opposite Tingyu Pavilion had also vanished from sight, Steward Li finally turned to his men, who were inlaying the golden bricks at the threshold, and said: "Now that is what you call imperial grace and magnanimity. Do you understand?"
"Ignorant wretches like us are naturally blind; how could we ever compare to Steward Li's discerning eyes, which can perceive everything at a glance?"
"Get back to work! Have it installed within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, and I'll come to inspect it later."
"Rest assured, sir."
"You got it!"