“Mm.” Ye Lanshan nodded. “I’ll come alone again in a few days. I want you to help me test his loyalty. If you find anything wrong with him, report to me immediately. Remember, don’t alert him by any means.”
“But we only know how to play music, sing songs, and serve men. We don’t know anything else.” Chunhua felt they couldn’t handle this task.
“You don’t need to do anything special. Just keep a close watch on his movements and report back to me.” Ye Lanshan felt for the first time how difficult it was to build a force.
But it didn’t matter. She had plenty of time.
“If you doubt his loyalty, why not make him swear a heavenly oath too?”
Ye Lanshan fell silent for a moment. Since they had all already sworn such oaths, they naturally couldn’t betray her. So she shared her suspicions with them.
“I suspect he’s a spy sent by my enemy. I want to use him to find evidence of my enemy’s intent to kill me.”
“Right now, you all are truly my only trusted people. Don’t worry—if you work hard, I won’t treat you poorly.”
After finishing, Ye Lanshan paused, then added, “My goal is to build the most powerful intelligence network on this continent. Are you interested in following me to the top of this world?”
Hearing this, the women’s eyes lit up. “Alright, we’re willing.” Indeed, no one was content to drift through life aimlessly.
“In that case, Qingdai, here’s a hundred white mystic stones. Take them and find a brothel to give it a proper renovation.” Ye Lanshan pulled out part of the thousand white mystic stones Lan Yexin had given her earlier and handed them to Qingdai.
Qingdai took the stones respectfully and said, “Yes.”
One of the girls kept staring at the white mystic stones, swallowing saliva.
The others quickly tugged at her, afraid her behavior would displease Ye Lanshan.
Just then, Ye Lanshan noticed. She guessed and asked, “You’re a light mystic power user, right?”
“Ah, yes, I am.” The girl’s eyes were still fixed on the stones, her reply distracted.
“Normally, anyone who can cultivate wouldn’t end up in a brothel.” Ye Lanshan didn’t have a thorough understanding of the local power structures, but she knew this basic fact.
The girl’s eyes dimmed. After a long pause, she replied, “I used to be very talented, doted on in my clan.”
“But everything changed after that day.” She fell into memory. “That day, I went to learn mystic power from the clan leader as usual. But when I arrived, I found him murdered.”
“I wanted to save him, but the moment I touched the dagger, others rushed in. One of them falsely accused me of killing the clan leader and wanted to execute me on the spot.”
“Luckily, the clan leader’s wife didn’t believe I was the murderer. She pleaded for my life, sparing me from death. But they crippled my meridians and expelled me from the clan. With nowhere to go, I ended up in a brothel, just barely surviving.”
“So you can’t cultivate mystic power anymore?” Though Ye Lanshan phrased it as a question, her tone was certain.
Xia Ri lowered her head and softly replied, “Mm.”
At this, Ye Lanshan’s headache grew worse. She had planned to teach them cultivation, but with broken meridians, how could they cultivate?
“What about the rest of you?” Ye Lanshan glanced at the others.
“We… we don’t know. We were sold to the brothel when we were very young. We’ve never cultivated mystic power.” Their voices carried a hint of longing.
“Alright, I understand. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you a cultivation method.” Ye Lanshan quickly formed a plan.
“As for you, Xia Ri, I have a technique that doesn’t require mystic power to cultivate. Do you want to learn?” Ye Lanshan suddenly recalled what Ye Yu had said earlier.
“Really? Of course I want to learn!” Xia Ri’s eyes lit up, forgetting all decorum, her excitement plain.
Ye Lanshan said, “Tomorrow, I’ll send someone to teach you. For now, go about your business. You stay—I have more to ask you.”
Qingdai asked respectfully, “What is it, master?”
“Don’t call me master from now on. Call me boss, or chief if you prefer.” Ye Lanshan didn’t like the title “master.”
“Then, boss, what else do you need to tell me that can’t be said in front of them?” Qingdai was puzzled.
Ye Lanshan took out a set of blueprints she had prepared earlier from her space and handed them to Qingdai. “Renovate this brothel according to these plans. If you run out of money, let me know.”
Qingdai looked at the blueprints and exclaimed, “It’s beautiful! Boss, rest assured, I’ll follow these plans to remodel the building.”
“Mm.” Ye Lanshan acknowledged and then left the brothel, heading to a legendary ghost street.
It wasn’t so much a ghost street as a massive black market, where anything could be bought and sold.
Ye Lanshan arrived at the slave market within the ghost street, strolling slowly as if browsing, but in truth, she was carefully selecting people who could serve her.
Unfortunately, after a full circle, she found no promising material. She sighed in disappointment and turned to leave.
Just then, a commotion caught her attention. Two parties were arguing over a medicinal herb.
She looked closer, and her pupils contracted sharply. Wasn’t that a twin fruit? How could it be here?
Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a fake—just a fruit that looked like a twin fruit. She lost interest immediately.
But then, an injured old man and a child drew her notice.
“Grandpa, hold on a little longer. Once we get there, we can rest.” The child carefully supported the wounded old man as they walked cautiously through the ghost street, eyes alertly scanning the crowd, as if someone might suddenly rush out and kill them.
“What an interesting pair.” Ye Lanshan turned to look at the child. Young but with sharp instincts—if nurtured, he could become a rare talent.
She approached slowly and looked at the old man. “Given how badly you’re injured, you probably don’t have long to live.”
“What do you want?” The child glared at Ye Lanshan warily, immediately stepping in front of his grandfather to block her from getting closer.
Ye Lanshan chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry, I mean no harm. I’m just curious about your grandfather’s injuries.”
“Speak plainly, friend. Don’t beat around the bush.” The old man rasped slowly, word by word, then began panting heavily.