"Gold-Melting Pavilion?"
Senior Brother Zhou took out his Judgment Token with complete nonchalance. What caught Chang Le's eye was that although Senior Brother Zhou held the Judgment Token, the aura he released was one of freezing sword Qi—unbridled and sharp, carrying an unstoppable battle intent whose edge was difficult to look upon.
Everyone else hurriedly hid behind him, but Chang Le alone narrowed her eyes, sensing a feeling of great joy and familiarity. It was just a pity that this sword Qi was far too weak; blowing across her face, it didn't even count as a gentle breeze.
The moment the thought arose, that sword Qi scattered along with it.
As she thought this, she saw Senior Brother Zhou glance in the direction where they stood.
Chang Le hastily lowered her head.
Unfamiliar with this world though she was, she had after all read the original novel. Spiritual entities taking human form were not common in this world; she had no desire to become anyone's scabbard—let alone the scabbard of the Judgment Token!
Senior Brother Zhou furrowed his brow. Just now, he had felt his sword Qi pull backward against his control. But this sense of loss of control was fleeting, coming and going so fast it felt like his own imagination.
Without dwelling on it, Senior Brother Zhou raised the token at his waist and jutted out his chin. "I don't care if you're the Gold-Melting Pavilion or the Silver-Melting Pavilion, anyone who obstructs the Sword Sect in the execution of its duties will be taken into custody!"
The fat flesh on the man's cheeks quivered. Just as he was about to speak, the person beside him gently tugged at the corner of his robe and whispered, "Young Master, this is the Sword Sect."
"So what if it's the Sword Sect? Even if it's the Sword Sect, do they not wear clothes or use provisions?" The man shoved his companion away, pointing a stubby finger at Senior Brother Zhou and the others. "If you ruin my fun, I'll jack up prices in Wei City by five times! You poor sword cultivators of the Sword Sect won't be able to afford a damn thing!"
Senior Brother Zhou's clean-shaven face instantly flushed red. Ceasing all further talk, he laid a hand on the Judgment Token, as if about to draw his sword the very next moment.
"Oh, oh, two Immortals, please stay calm!" The manager of Washing Fragrance Pavilion was a middle-aged woman dressed in bright reds and greens. With a pale face, she stood in the middle, pleading for mercy from both sides. She could afford to offend neither party, but she feared even more that the Immortals would start fighting, causing the building to collapse and leaving mortals like her to suffer the consequences. "This Immortal wishes to meet the courtesan, so I'll just have the courtesan come out."
The plump man chuckled, lifting his chin as he looked at Senior Brother Zhou. "This is a mutually agreeable business, what else do you have to say?"
Frowning, Senior Brother Zhou hesitated for a moment. In the end, he put away his sword and looked at the manager. Wiping the sweat from her brow, the manager arranged for both parties to be accommodated in separate rooms set far apart, terrified that something might go wrong.
Senior Brother Zhou nodded. "Thank you for the trouble. We are here to investigate a case; you may come find us once you've finished handling your affairs."
Smiling, the manager escorted Chang Le and the others into a room, had tea and pastries brought in, dropped a casual "please wait a moment," and hurried back out.
"Why haven't you invited the courtesan out yet?"
"Mother, that patron has a notorious reputation and has already roughed up several girls. I'm afraid the courtesan might..."
"What other choice is there? That's an Immortal! If we disobey him, we won't be able to protect ourselves either..."
The voices were kept very low, but everyone present was a cultivator and caught every word before the sounds gradually faded into the distance.
Unable to bear it in her heart, Chang Le raised her head to see Senior Brother Zhou seated upright by the table, eyes closed with a hand resting upon the hilt of his sword. The others likewise lowered their gaze, eating and drinking as if paying it no mind at all.
Hesitating for a moment, Chang Le asked, "Is this really okay?"
A brief silence filled the room before Senior Brother Zhou raised his head, looked at Chang Le, and asked, "Do you think the murderer is a cultivator or a mortal?"
Though unaware why Senior Brother Zhou was asking, Chang Le pondered for a moment and replied, "This person seems quite well-versed in grievances, deliberately choosing a place like this to render tracking talismans useless. My guess is that it must be a cultivator of low cultivation."
Senior Brother Zhou shook his head. "The murderer is a mortal."
Chang Le blinked in surprise. "Why?"
Setting his teacup down on the table with a soft clink, Mu Youzhi raised his head to look at Chang Le. "A mortal's karma is a tangled mess. The fewer mortal affairs a cultivator gets entangled in, the better it is for any advancement toward the Great Dao. Otherwise, karmic entanglements are impossible to dispel, and hopes of the Great Dao are utterly lost. A mortal's lifespan spans barely a hundred years, yet a cultivator's lifespan is several times that of a mortal's, increasing with every breakthrough in minor realms. Which is heavier and which is lighter should be self-evident."
"But aren't we running around for mortals right now, right here in Wei City?" Chang Le was puzzled.
Senior Brother Zhou said, "We provide mortals with protection; mortals sustain our cultivation sects in return. The karma is settled. But one must not deeply entangle oneself with mortals."
Chang Le fell silent. The Sword Sect guarded mortals, and mortals in return rewarded them with children possessing spiritual roots and talent; it felt almost like a transaction. Even though Senior Brother Zhou was running about on behalf of the wrongfully slain, he was doing so solely because it was his duty.
There was certainly nothing wrong with this way of thinking, but Chang Le still felt that something was missing.
"Yet aren't those people from the Gold-Melting Pavilion cultivators as well?"
Senior Brother Zhou gave a low chuckle. "That fellow's cultivation is hollow and his foundation unstable. He probably had some meager mixed spiritual root and had his cultivation forcefully boosted with pills, cutting him off from the Great Dao long ago."
Chang Le asked again, "Since there are cultivators cut off from the Great Dao doing such things, why couldn't the murderer be someone like that?"
Sipping his tea leisurely, Senior Brother Zhou raised his head to look at Chang Le. "If you possessed abilities far surpassing those of mortals, would you still skulk about in such a stealthy, covert manner? This world is vast; Wei City is hardly the only place."
Chang Le finally understood. For a cultivator to kill a mortal was simply too effortless. If the crime had truly been committed by a cultivator, he would likely seek out some mortal dwelling to indulge his malice to the fullest—why bother coming specifically to the Sword Sect's territory of Wei City?
Yet treating human life so lightly still left Chang Le feeling somewhat unsettled.
Watching Chang Le's expression, Mu Youzhi couldn't help letting out a soft sigh in his heart. Senior Sister Chang clearly looked like someone who had never experienced hardship and had been carefully sheltered. To have spent all these years in the outer sect and still maintain such a state of mind was truly precious.
After pondering for a long while, Chang Le finally stood up. "I'm going out for a stroll."
The others all turned to look at Chang Le, and Senior Brother Zhou nodded. "Go ahead."
Hou Jing opened her mouth as if to object, but Mu Youzhi gave her a tug. Glancing sideways at Mu Youzhi, Hou Jing ultimately closed her mouth.
Watching Chang Le turn and walk out the door, Hou Jing frowned and asked, "Senior Sister, why did you stop me? Getting too deeply entangled in mortal karma is no good thing. Besides, what courtesan could possibly be prettier than Senior Sister Chang? What if those people from the Gold-Melting Pavilion harbor malicious intentions and end up harming Senior Sister Chang?"
"With us here, she won't suffer any major losses." Senior Brother Zhou shook his head. "This is her own choice. On the path of cultivation, no one else can do anything for you. We have already explained the crucial points; as for whether she listens or not, that is her own affair."
Chang Le stepped out into the hallway. Since it was not yet business hours for the pleasure quarters, the surroundings were quiet. With a cultivator's sharp senses, Chang Le could even hear the faint, light sounds of breathing coming from many of the rooms.
Slowing her pace, Chang Le walked forward and soon caught the sound of laughter—lewd and obscene. Such a person was actually capable of cultivating immortality.
Chang Le frowned, though upon reflecting that this world was a male-oriented protagonist novel, she decided it made a certain twisted sense.
Walking slowly forward, the sounds grew clearer. She heard a woman's reluctant evasions, followed immediately by the tearing of fabric.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
Raising her head, Chang Le saw a young girl wearing twin buns—not yet of age—charging toward the room where the courtesan was kept. The two cultivators standing guard at the door didn't even blink. With a flash of light, the young girl was sent flying backward. Though not fatal, she was bound to suffer severe injuries from the impending fall.
Chang Le rushed forward, caught the young girl by the back, and lifted her slightly so that she landed steadily on her feet. Pale with fright, the girl touched her own body before finally looking up at Chang Le.
After just a single glance, she immediately lowered her gaze again and bowed. "Greetings, Immortal."
Although the girl lowered her head quickly, Chang Le had already noticed a scar across her face, running diagonally from her left eyebrow down to the right corner of her mouth, ruining an otherwise pretty face and turning it into something fierce and ugly.
In a place like this, such a scar—the reason behind it went without saying.
For a moment, Chang Le said nothing. The girl, her bowed body trembling slightly, whispered, "I-I am unsightly and have offended the Immortal. I am truly, truly sorry."
Her voice trembled, and she curled up her hands and feet, clearly fearing that Chang Le might strike her.
Shaking her head, Chang Le helped the girl up. "It's nothing."
With that, she hesitated, intending to leave.
Instead, the girl grabbed the hem of her robe. "Immortal, could you please save my mistress?"
"Your mistress?" Chang Le asked in confusion.
"Yes, yes!" The girl nodded frantically, pointing a finger toward the door. "It's Liu Niang! The courtesan is my mistress."
Looking at Chang Le with hopeful eyes that swept momentarily over the sword at her waist before dropping back down, the girl whispered, "The Immortal is a good person, a great benefactor. My mistress treats me very well. Could I beg you to save her?"
Chang Le paused. Having previously been an ordinary person herself, the only time she had ever acted ruthlessly was to save her own life. She had never imagined that one day someone would beg her for help. Glancing toward the room of the Gold-Melting Pavilion, she met the gazes of the guards stationed at the door.
"Hmph, you want to meddle in mortal affairs too? Aren't you afraid of getting entangled in karma?"
There was not a shred of emotion in the expressions of the men looking over. Chang Le suddenly understood: the reason the young girl hadn't been killed outright earlier wasn't because the cultivators cared for mortals, but simply because they wished to avoid karmic entanglements. They wouldn't kill a mortal, but nothing said they couldn't severely injure and cripple one.
Looking at the young girl, Chang Le mimicked Wei Huai's appearance and asked gently, "Do you recognize this person?"
The girl's eyes widened slightly, revealing a trace of fear as she whispered, "I-I recognize him. He is, he is a regular visitor of my elder sister's..."
Having heard earlier that Wei Huai was a patron here, Chang Le had merely intended to use him as an excuse, never expecting that the girl would actually know him.
Patting the young girl's head, Chang Le stood up. Placing a hand on the hilt of her sword, she said, "I am a disciple of the Sword Sect, here on official business. The courtesan is an important witness, so I must ask the two of you to step aside and not hinder the Sword Sect's investigation."
The two cultivators couldn't help exchanging glances before one of them said in a deep voice, "I can see you're merely an outer sect disciple, likely living extravagantly on your allowance. Our young master is the son of the Gold-Melting Pavilion's Wei City manager..."
Chang Le smiled. "Is your young master's name literally 'the son of the Gold-Melting Pavilion's Wei City manager'? Repeating the same line over and over—it seems he's nothing at all aside from being somebody's son. He can't even state his own name."
The complexions of the two cultivators darkened.
Chang Le's complexion darkened as well. Silently sliding open her communication interface, she spoke up: "This is Wei City, a city belonging to the Sword Sect, not your Gold-Melting Pavilion. Step aside at once!"
Brandishing the banner of the Sword Sect with her back held straight, her palms were nonetheless slick with sweat. Currently at the 9th layer of Qi Refining, she had yet to enter Foundation Establishment. She couldn't read the cultivation levels of the two guards before her, but she figured their cultivation far surpassed her own.
Unable to defeat them, she had no choice but to borrow her sect's reputation.
She remembered that before the Contention for the Great Fortune, although Gushan Sword Sect wasn't the number one sect in the world, it was definitely the toughest nut to crack in the righteous path.
She refused to believe the other party would truly refuse to budge.
Exchanging a look, the two cultivators silently stepped away from the door.
Clutching her sword tightly, Chang Le pushed the young girl further back before shoving the door open with a fierce push.
Inside, garments were strewn all over the floor, and a woman was crying out in panic, looking in a wretched state. A fire ignited in Chang Le's heart as she swung her longsword down with all her might.
"Stop!"
"Young Master!!"
The two cultivators behind her shouted in panic, launching attacks one after another.
Chang Le felt spiritual energy violently collide within her body, causing her to spit a mouthful of blood. Yet keeping a ruthless intent in her eyes, she brought her blade down with force. With a loud tearing sound, the longsword plunged into flesh, sticking so firmly it couldn't be pulled out immediately.
The man let out a pig-like squeal, scrambled to turn over, and rolled frantically to the side.
The necklace hanging around his neck suddenly burst into brilliant light, wrapping firmly around him for protection.
"You female cultivator! I'll definitely kill you!"
Crying out at the top of his lungs, the man formed a hand seal and struck toward Chang Le. Showing no fear toward someone whose cultivation was clearly inferior to her own, Chang Le flicked her wrist, shattered the opposing seal, and glared with a fierce expression.
A rush of wind from behind signaled the two guards employing a rescue strategy by attacking the rescuer.
Yet Chang Le detested fat men of this sort above all else; the fellow had a background and clearly harbored a vengeful nature. If she didn't finish him off now while he was unclothed and protected by only a single magical treasure, there was no telling what sort of retaliatory tricks he might pull later.
With ferocity burning in her eyes, she threw caution to the wind, determined to cut the man down even if it cost her dearly.
She only regretted that her opponent wasn't a sword cultivator, rendering her golden finger useless.
The rushing wind swept past the back of her head, bringing a sharp pain like a razor blade scraping her skin. Raising her sword body, Chang Le pressed the attack while the man let out a shrill shriek, scared out of his wits and wetting himself.
At that exact moment, a gust of sword wind swept past, neutralizing the opponents' attack while someone arrived instantly by the man's side. With a heavy palm strike, the man's layers of fat quivered as he slid out of the way of Chang Le's blade, though the edge still managed to leave a bloody gash across his body. Rolling his eyes back, he fainted dead away from sheer terror.
"Put down your weapons this instant!"
Frowning, Senior Brother Zhou rubbed his wrist vigorously. The fatty had been solidly built and packed with unknown substances; pushing him away had nearly fractured Senior Brother Zhou's wrist, forcing him to use his full strength. Glancing at the fatty, he was relieved to see he hadn't been beaten to death with a single palm strike. Raising his voice, Senior Brother Zhou called out loudly, "The Sword Sect is on official business, all unrelated parties step aside at once!"
"If anyone dares defy us, we'll see you at the city's Punishment Hall!"
Withdrawing their palms, the two cultivators rushed to the man's side, checked his breathing, and breathed sighs of relief upon finding him unharmed. Supporting the man between them, they cast a glare at the nonchalant Senior Brother Zhou. "Well played, Zhou Zixuan. The Gold-Melting Pavilion will remember you, and all of you as well!"
"Hmph, you provoked a disciple of my Sword Sect, and our Sword Sect remembers you too!"
Sneering coldly, Zhou Zixuan stood tall and proud as he watched the men vanish. The very second Chang Le opened her mouth to express her gratitude, Zhou Zixuan's face collapsed and he burst into tears: "Waaah, I probably won't be able to buy anything in this city anymore."
Chang Le: "Uh..."
Zhou Zixuan looked at Chang Le. "Were you planning to repay me?"
Biting the bullet, Chang Le asked, "How does Senior Brother wish for me to repay you? I'll say this first, I have no money."
His face falling even further, Zhou Zixuan waved a hand. "Then forget I said anything!"
Glancing over at the courtesan's location, he saw that Mu Youzhi had already wrapped the woman in robes, while the gentle spiritual energy of the Water-Wood Spirit Root nourished the courtesan's battered body. Nearby, the young girl wiped away tears continuously, not daring to make a sound for fear of distracting the Immortal. Frowning, Senior Brother Zhou said, "I'll wait outside."
Watching Senior Brother Zhou's weathered back, Chang Le turned her head back around. "Everyone's such a good person. They rushed right over the moment they received my message."
Chen Wei turned his head. "What message? We didn't receive anything?"
Chang Le let out an "Ah?", hastily lowered her head, and pulled out her Silk Slip. The person on the other end had already replied with several messages:
"?"
"Does Junior Sister need something?"
"What's wrong?"
"Where are you?"
Oh no, she had accidentally contacted Senior Sister Xu.