Chapter 3
The next day, Xu Xing began wondering whether he should offer He Sitao some advice.
Plenty of enthusiasm, but a serious lack of technique.
That was Xu Xing’s objective assessment of He Sitao’s performance in bed last night.
Surely things couldn’t go on like this forever.
As Xu Xing ate his exquisite breakfast in the newly refurbished hall, he absentmindedly wondered whether he should find some “instructional books” for the Sect Master.
But he had no connections or anyone to rely on in Changtang Sect at the moment, so he could only put that idea aside for now.
Besides, as Xu Xing looked around at the furnishings in the hall, he still found the whole thing somewhat unbelievable.
Yesterday, he’d merely made a casual remark about a jade ruyi and some purple coral. He hadn’t expected those words to reach He Sitao’s ears, much less that He Sitao would actually have people bring in a jade ruyi and purple coral… along with many other pieces of precious jade.
This was practically a completely different person from the He Sitao he remembered.
Sanwei had even told him earlier that the Sect Master had brought in all these new ornaments just for him.
How could Xu Xing possibly believe that?
He didn’t think He Sitao would go to such lengths to please a mere male courtesan from Nanfeng Pavilion.
But how else could he explain these changes in He Sitao?
In the end, Xu Xing could only tell himself that He Sitao was simply enjoying the novelty.
After all, He Sitao had never kept a male courtesan before. Perhaps he thought these were the sorts of things one was supposed to do when keeping one.
Tianya Residence occupied the highest peak of Luanhe Mountain. Since it was also He Sitao’s personal residence, the other members of Changtang Sect rarely came here unless specifically summoned.
Xu Xing had been staying here for two days, yet surprisingly, he hadn’t felt bored at all.
Tianya Residence had a library called Wenzhi Pavilion, which housed many rare and treasured books.
In his previous life, Xu Xing had always wanted to read every book in Wenzhi Pavilion. However, his high-ranking position had kept him far too busy, and Wenzhi Pavilion was, after all, He Sitao’s private domain. Consequently, he’d never had the opportunity to fulfill that wish.
Now, through an unexpected twist of fate, he was living so close to Wenzhi Pavilion, and he had plenty of free time on his hands.
So Xu Xing told He Sitao that he wanted to read some books to pass the time, and He Sitao granted him permission to enter Wenzhi Pavilion.
The branch of Changtang Sect responsible for trading information was Qianji Branch, and Xu Xing had once been its Branch Master.
Everyone in Qianji Branch knew that the rarest books and most difficult-to-find treasures in the martial world were all kept in their Sect Master’s Wenzhi Pavilion at Tianya Residence. However, the information Qianji Pavilion sold invariably pointed buyers toward the emperor’s treasury or the private vaults of various martial arts alliance members. As a result, Wenzhi Pavilion itself was surprisingly obscure in the martial world.
He Sitao had initially thought there was nothing wrong with letting Xu Xing read books to pass the time. But after returning home two days in a row without seeing him and having to go to Wenzhi Pavilion to drag him out, He Sitao began to regret letting him inside.
Letting Xu Xing into Wenzhi Pavilion was like letting a mouse loose in a granary. One could hardly blame him for becoming so engrossed that he forgot everything else.
Xu Xing was well aware of this old habit of his. In his previous life, he’d managed to accomplish so much at Qianji Branch not only because his knowledge of the plot gave him certain advantages, but also because he was genuinely curious and passionate about all kinds of strange and unusual information.
As it happened, Wenzhi Pavilion contained many books that could answer questions he’d been unable to resolve in his previous life. This often made him so absorbed in reading that he forgot to eat or sleep.
“You’re not allowed to go to Wenzhi Pavilion tomorrow.” After dragging Xu Xing back, He Sitao tossed him into the warm bathing pool behind the residence. Then he crouched down and tapped Xu Xing on the head with the tip of his folded fan.
Xu Xing, whose head was still spinning slightly after reading all day, instantly became fully alert as he soaked in the pool. Hearing this, he couldn’t help protesting, “Sect Master…”
But He Sitao refused to listen to another word and turned to go inside.
Xu Xing could only obediently finish his bath, change his clothes, and head into the inner room to find He Sitao.
He Sitao was already lying on his side on the bed, his eyes closed.
“Sect Master?” Xu Xing crouched beside the bed, studying his sleeping face as he cautiously called out.
With his current level of martial arts, he couldn’t tell whether He Sitao was genuinely asleep or merely pretending.
Seeing no response, Xu Xing had no choice but to climb onto the bed, step over He Sitao, and settle down on the inner side.
He had barely lain down when He Sitao, who had originally been sleeping facing outward, happened to turn over, pinning Xu Xing beneath him.
Xu Xing: “Sect Master?”
No answer.
Xu Xing bit his lip. “He Sitao?”
The man who was supposedly asleep opened his eyes at the sound of his name.
“Don’t want to sleep?”
Xu Xing: “…” So he hadn’t been asleep after all.
“I’m sleeping, I’m sleeping.” Xu Xing closed his eyes.
…
The next day, Xu Xing wanted to visit Wenzhi Pavilion again, but when he reached the entrance, he discovered that the door had been locked.
It wasn’t hard to guess who was responsible.
Xu Xing asked Sanwei, “Where is the Sect Master?”
Sanwei replied, “The Sect Master just went to the water dungeon.”
The water dungeon, huh? He must be very busy…
Xu Xing couldn’t be bothered to go over there.
“All right, I’ll go back and rest.”
Xu Xing returned to the main residence and sprawled on the bed like a corpse.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, a commotion outside startled him awake.
He had barely opened his eyes when he felt a gust of wind rush through the doorway. In the next instant, a sharp blade was pressed against his neck.
Xu Xing frowned. Instinctively, he raised his hand and struck an acupoint on the intruder’s wrist. He caught the falling sword by its blade and tossed it aside, then turned and knocked the intruder unconscious with a swift knife-hand strike.
The entire sequence of movements was executed in one fluid motion.
Almost the instant the intruder collapsed to the floor, the door was pushed open from outside.
Xu Xing turned around and found himself looking at He Sitao from several steps away.
In his previous life, He Sitao had personally taught him martial arts.
If He Sitao had appeared even a moment earlier, Xu Xing might have had trouble explaining himself.
But now, Xu Xing glanced at the drenched figure lying unconscious on the floor, took a step backward, and allowed his body to sway, looking as though he’d been frightened out of his wits.
“Sect Master…”
He Sitao caught him with one hand before he could fall.
“This person escaped from the water dungeon.”
Someone had actually managed to escape from the water dungeon?
Xu Xing was startled inwardly, but his face remained a picture of bewilderment.
“Are you all right?” He Sitao helped Xu Xing stand properly and looked him over, asking a question whose answer was already obvious.
Xu Xing smiled awkwardly. “I’m fine.”
The person lying on the floor suddenly let out a groan.
It seemed he was about to regain consciousness.
Sanwei and Sitong hurried over and handed the man over to Liang Heng.
The water dungeon was Liang Heng’s responsibility. For someone to escape from it was a failure of duty on his part.
Liang Heng, who arrived late, knelt before He Sitao to apologize.
“This subordinate was negligent. Please punish me, Sect Master.”
Liang Heng hadn’t expected there to be other traitors within Changtang Sect besides Song Jie.
He Sitao glanced at Liang Heng. “First, investigate what happened.”
Liang Heng replied, “Yes.”
Xu Xing stood quietly to the side without saying a word.
He had a rough idea of what was going on.
The assassination attempt on He Sitao at Nanfeng Pavilion hadn’t been an accident.
The assassins had been sent by the Demonic Sect, and He Sitao’s whereabouts had been leaked by a Changtang Sect disciple named Song Jie.
As for why the Demonic Sect had decided to provoke He Sitao, it was simply because its new leader had only recently assumed his position and was eager to do something to establish his authority.
Within the Demonic Sect, aside from those who supported the new leader’s succession, there was another faction whose members favored the Holy Son.
But if the new leader could kill He Sitao, the man who had once soundly defeated the Holy Son, wouldn’t that prove he was stronger than the Holy Son and therefore the rightful, undisputed leader of the Demonic Sect?
Xu Xing thought He Sitao was rather unlucky. He could be minding his own business at home and still somehow get dragged into the Demonic Sect’s internal power struggles.
Liang Heng withdrew.
He Sitao’s gaze settled on Xu Xing.
“You know martial arts?”
His tone was difficult to read.
Xu Xing’s heart tightened, but he smiled and replied, “Just a few crude tricks. I was always getting bullied when I lived on the streets as a child, so I picked up a few skills to defend myself.”
He was telling the truth. The original owner of this body had been an orphan who wandered the streets from a young age. When he turned ten and his features began to develop, Nanfeng Pavilion took him in.
At first, he only performed miscellaneous chores around the pavilion. Although he was forced to witness many sordid things, life at Nanfeng Pavilion wasn’t quite as difficult as the days when he lived on the streets, never knowing where his next meal would come from.
But later, on the night before Nanfeng Pavilion intended to make him receive customers, the original owner chose to take his own life.
And then Xu Xing transmigrated into his body.
Hearing this explanation, He Sitao didn’t question him any further.
He raised a hand and gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind Xu Xing’s ear. “Don’t worry. No one will bully you again in Changtang Sect.”
Xu Xing’s eyes darted mischievously. “What do you mean, no one will bully me? Aren’t you bullying me right now, Sect Master?”
He Sitao raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding that Xu Xing was referring to Wenzhi Pavilion being locked.
“I’ll have Sanwei unlock it this afternoon. However, we’ll need to establish some rules about Wenzhi Pavilion’s opening hours. You can’t stay in there all night,” He Sitao said.
Having achieved his goal, Xu Xing didn’t mind the additional condition. “All right.”
After a brief pause, Xu Xing added, “Thank you, Sect Master.”
Over the past few days, Xu Xing had begun to get a feel for how far he could push the boundaries when interacting with He Sitao.
In the past, his relationship with He Sitao had been purely that of a superior and subordinate, so no amount of respect or deference had been excessive. But things were different now. There was an additional layer of physical intimacy between them.
While maintaining a respectful attitude toward He Sitao, Xu Xing could occasionally push his luck a little without causing any harm.
These were all things taught at Nanfeng Pavilion. Xu Xing had never formally studied them, but someone as clever as him naturally found it easy to grasp such minor subtleties.
That afternoon, Xu Xing took a nap before heading to Wenzhi Pavilion.
Sanwei had already unlocked the door, and the pavilion was exceptionally quiet.
Apart from He Sitao, hardly anyone ever visited Wenzhi Pavilion. Now, however, it had become a place Xu Xing could enter and leave freely.
A rare and precious painting that the emperor had issued a public notice seeking, yet had been unable to find for a long time, lay quietly in a corner of Wenzhi Pavilion.
A valuable antidote formula that the Martial Arts Alliance had searched the entire martial world for without finding a single clue was casually tucked between the pages of a rare book.
The Bloodvine Flower that the Demonic Sect had been searching for all this time was blooming silently on the windowsill.
Surely a place like this ought to be heavily guarded. Yet it wasn’t. He Sitao hadn’t assigned any additional guards to protect the pavilion. He had merely set up a deadly formation outside its entrance.
Xu Xing had no idea how formidable that killing formation was because he’d never triggered it.
Even now, he still didn’t know what mechanism activated the formation.
There was no point dwelling on it. Xu Xing gathered his thoughts and turned his attention back to the rare book in his hands.
Once he started reading, he remained engrossed until dusk approached. Only when Sanwei arrived under orders to close the pavilion did Xu Xing finally emerge from the world of the book.
“Young Master Xu, it’s about time,” Sanwei reminded him.
Xu Xing returned the book to its original place and stretched lazily. “Got it. I’ll head back right away.”
He Sitao returned rather late that evening. Xu Xing had already finished dinner and taken a bath, but there was still no sign of him.
Xu Xing could only ask Sitong, “Is the Sect Master not coming back tonight?”
If He Sitao wasn’t returning, Xu Xing would simply go to sleep first.
Sitong replied, “It seems they caught a traitor. The Sect Master is dealing with the matter right now.”
Then he’d probably be busy all night and wouldn’t be coming back.
Xu Xing nodded and leisurely climbed back into bed.
Ah, how wonderful it was to have a life without overtime!
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