"Then just wait and see. Rest assured, as long as you don't seek out your brother, the Demon Sect Master won't find him." Ye Yutian noticed his hand, which was about to crush the jade pendant.
"I don't need your interference. Even without you, he absolutely has no time to kill my brother." Mo Ran loosened his grip on the jade pendant, then reattached it to his waist, as if using it to remind himself of his purpose.
Now only Ye Yutian stood alone on the eaves. A chilly wind blew toward him, carrying a sense of the loneliness of high places.
"Qingdai, what kind of person do you think the master of Fusheng Auction House really is?" Ye Lanshan, back at Dream Red Pavilion, recalled what the Dark Lord had said to her during the meal: "Come to Fusheng Auction House tomorrow at noon; I have something to give you."
"To answer you, sir, I've heard that Fusheng Auction House was founded by the Dark Lord. Its influence is extraordinarily formidable, and no one dares provoke it. What's most chilling about the Dark Lord is his exceptionally cruel methods. They say he's strikingly handsome. Once, a woman lusted after his looks and went to any lengths to crawl into his bed. In response, he chopped her into mincemeat, made it into buns, and fed them to the dogs."
"After that, tired of such moths drawn to the flame, he began wearing a terrifying mask. Other women, terrified by his methods, dared not approach him."
"Oh, what about elsewhere? From what you're saying, he must have more than just Fusheng Auction House under his control, right?" Ye Lanshan silently analyzed the Dark Lord's—essentially Ye Yutian's—personality.
"Correct. Fusheng Auction House is just the front. His true power lies in the Dark Pavilion, the most lethal assassin organization in the world. Every contract they take never fails. As for the rest, due to our limited contacts, that's all the intelligence we've gathered." Qingdai herself didn't know much about this profoundly mysterious Dark Lord.
"Understood. You may go now. You've worked hard during this time." Ye Lanshan, solely from the perspective of an assassin, felt that the Dark Lord (Ye Yutian) hardly seemed like a warm-hearted person. Why he wanted to give her a gift tomorrow remained a puzzle she couldn't solve.
Cruel methods, ruthless and merciless—he's just a cold-blooded assassin leader. No matter how I think about it, he wouldn't give me a gift. Could it be that, hearing I've successfully contracted the Fuxi Qin and can't retrieve it now, he plans to lure me to his turf, kill me, and take it back? The more Ye Lanshan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Even if I flee, I already have enough enemies. And even if I could escape carefully and save my own skin, my grandfather is still here. I can't drag the Ye family back and forth with me, can I?
What a headache. Forget it—I'll deal with it when it comes. Given how much the royal court and the sacred lands want me, there's no way they'd let me die before they get their hands on me.
With that thought, Ye Lanshan stopped worrying about tomorrow and cheerfully began to cultivate.
Outside, Shuangbai, tears in her eyes, stumbled dejectedly into a shop. She thought it was an inn, but mistakenly entered a brothel. She watched as a gentle woman pulled her into a corner and whispered, "Miss, barging in like this might ruin your reputation. If you must come in, you should at least disguise yourself so no one recognizes you."
Qingdai had no intention of turning away a guest, but she'd never seen a young lady so brazenly walk straight through the front door.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I thought this was an inn, so I came in." Shuangbai smiled apologetically, then turned and walked out dejectedly.
"Sigh! Another young lady heartbroken by a man, I suppose." Qingdai sighed.
As evening fell, before it was fully dark, several women who weren't receiving guests that day couldn't wait and came to Ye Lanshan's door, knocking cautiously. "Sir, when can we start practicing swordsmanship?"
"Go to the back courtyard and wait. I'll be there shortly." A warm voice came from inside. The women, as if hearing good news, cheerfully ran to the back courtyard.
Xia Ri's swordsmanship was decent now; she shouldn't cause any problems teaching them. The biggest headache was that her cultivation was insufficient to open their Conception and Governing Vessels. Speaking of which, Ye Lanshan found it quite troubling.
Actually, cultivators usually start training from a very young age, opening their own Conception and Governing Vessels. But the women of Dream Red Pavilion were different—their bones and meridians had already set, so they could only rely on external force to open them. This meant she'd have to trouble herself to do it for them one by one. Though opening these vessels didn't consume much spiritual energy, the sheer number of people was overwhelming.
"Now I'll open your Conception and Governing Vessels. After that, Xia Ri will teach you the swordsmanship. Her foundation is excellent, more than enough to instruct you." Ye Lanshan had them all sit cross-legged, sink their qi into their dantians, and enter meditation.
"Alright, Xia Ri, the rest is up to you." Ye Lanshan steadied her spiritual energy and left the rest to Xia Ri.
"I hope you can finish the Soul-Breaking Water soon." As soon as Ye Lanshan left Dream Red Pavilion, she headed straight to the courtyard where Tao Yao trained assassins.
Tao Yao was whispering with Yi An when the sudden voice startled her. She said irritably, "Can you not sneak into someone's room so silently? Don't you know scaring people can kill them?"
Ye Lanshan said innocently, "I did knock. You just didn't hear it."
"Shan Luo, did you really go to dinner with the Dark Lord today?" Tao Yao leaned back in her chair, a flicker of fear in her eyes.
"Of course. How else could I have shaken off those people coveting my divine artifact?" Ye Lanshan's tone was light.
"You'd better keep your distance from him in the future." Tao Yao's voice carried a note of caution.
It's not that I want to associate with him; he's the one insisting on being involved with me, Ye Lanshan screamed inwardly, but outwardly she maintained a composed demeanor. "Naturally."
"Don't take this lightly. The Dark Lord is always unpredictable. When he's happy, he can lift you to the heavens, but when he's displeased, he can smash you to pieces." Tao Yao clearly knew something; otherwise, she wouldn't say this.
"Oh, it seems you're quite familiar with the Dark Lord. Why don't you tell me what kind of person he really is?" As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated. From Tao Yao's words, it seemed the Dark Lord was far more formidable than she'd imagined.
"In short, remember this: if you offend him, you'll truly die without a burial place. Even the sacred lands dare not act against him lightly." Just thinking about the Dark Lord's methods made Tao Yao afraid. Though she considered herself ruthless, compared to him, she was barely a drop in the ocean.