"It's over, long over." Fu Tian sighed, his voice filled with grief.
But Ye Lanshan knew he wasn't telling the truth. Still, they'd only met twice and weren't close, so some secrecy was normal.
It didn't matter, though—since they shared a common enemy, he'd spill it eventually.
But she could never have guessed that this secret would be revealed to her only as Fu Tian lay dying. That, however, was a story for later.
"Grandfather, isn't there still..." Fu Tian quickly shot him a warning glance, silencing him.
"I know you still have reservations about me, but that's fine." Before she could finish, a commotion erupted outside the door, as if someone was trashing the place.
"Focus on healing for now. We'll talk about everything else later." Ye Lanshan looked toward the door, a sudden bad feeling rising within her.
"I'll go check it out. Stay here and don't move." After weighing her options, Ye Lanshan decided to see for herself what was happening.
Logically, a newly renovated brothel that hadn't even opened yet shouldn't draw much attention. So who was causing trouble here?
The moment Ye Lanshan went downstairs, she saw several young men in white robes surrounding Qing Dai, as if interrogating her about something.
"What's going on?" Ye Lanshan descended the stairs with the elegant bearing of a refined gentleman.
"Boss." Seeing her boss, Qing Dai lit up like a grasshopper clutching its only lifeline.
"Are you the owner here?" one of the men asked.
"That's right, I'm the owner. May I ask what brings you gentlemen to my establishment?" Ye Lanshan maintained a graceful demeanor, quite different from her usual self.
"As far as I know, the fugitive our Holy Land is hunting is hiding here. Hand them over, and I might spare your life," another young man in white declared arrogantly, as if sparing her was some great favor.
"How could I possibly be hiding the fugitive you're after? You gentlemen must have the wrong place." Ye Lanshan had no intention of handing over Fu Tian and Fu Feng.
"Hmph, don't refuse a toast only to drink the forfeit. Search the place." One of the young men waved his hand, leading the others in an attempt to ransack the brothel.
But Ye Lanshan wouldn't allow it. Naturally, she blocked the stairs.
"Do you dare to oppose my Holy Land?" The man narrowed his eyes. Though his tone was dismissive, a hint of seriousness crept in—he couldn't discern Ye Lanshan's cultivation level.
"You were the ones being unreasonable first, yet you blame me, the host. Please take a good look—this is merely an unopened brothel. How could it possibly hide the fugitive you speak of?" Ye Lanshan stood at the stairway entrance, arguing point by point like a scholar.
"Courting death." Losing all patience, the man gathered mystic energy and unleashed the Holy Land's signature technique, "Radiant Holy Bird."
Ye Lanshan dodged backward, conjuring a "Flame Shield" to block the attack.
Seeing her only raise a Flame Shield, the man sneered, "Utterly overestimating yourself." But the next second, his eyes went wide.
The most basic of all mystic techniques—the Flame Shield—had actually blocked his Radiant Holy Bird.
"How... how is this possible?" The man stood frozen for a few seconds.
"What's possible or not? Anyone who dares oppose the Holy Land only has one path—death." The others glared viciously at Ye Lanshan.
In an instant, they conjured another technique, "Sword of Light Piercing the Body," as countless invisible blades of light shot toward Ye Lanshan.
Ye Lanshan sighed inwardly. Looks like this place needs another renovation.
As the countless invisible light swords flew at her, she unleashed her own killer move, "Wings of Carnage."
The wings formed of flames behind her seemed a shade darker than before—perhaps the color after her fusion with the strange fire had upgraded her Red Lotus Karmic Flame.
In just a moment, the man's contempt turned to shock. He never imagined a mere brothel owner could possess such formidable strength.
But even with that strength, what could she do? Could she withstand a siege from all of them?
The group exchanged glances and then surrounded Ye Lanshan.
Ye Lanshan smirked, showing no trace of panic. While using her Flame Shield to defend against their attacks, she pulled talismans from her spatial storage and stuck them onto her opponents when they weren't paying attention.
"What's happening? Why can't I move?" A panicked voice rang out.
"I can't move either," another voice echoed.
"What sorcery did you use? Release us at once!" one of the young men in white barked at Ye Lanshan. "You wretch, daring to treat us like this—just wait for a miserable death."
"Hah, the Holy Land's upbringing is truly an eye-opener." Ye Lanshan showed no fear of their threats.
"What do you want to let us go?" One of them, realizing force wouldn't work, tried a softer approach.
"Let you go? If a bunch of people came and trashed the shop you worked so hard to build, would you forgive them? Hah, what a joke." Unfortunately, Ye Lanshan had no intention of letting them off.
"What exactly do you want?" The youngest among them decided to stop wasting words.
"It seems you don't understand the situation. Now that you're all in my hands, what do you think I'll do?" Ye Lanshan condensed a fireball with her mystic energy.
She looked them over, as if deciding who to burn first.
"I'm telling you, if you dare kill us, the Holy Land will never let you go," the man said nervously.
Ye Lanshan slowly walked toward him, spitting out a few impatient words: "If you've got guts, don't use your background as a bargaining chip for strength." She habitually pulled out a dagger and swiftly finished them off.
With such a commotion, it was impossible for Fu Tian and Fu Feng not to notice. Just as she finished them off, they came downstairs.
Seeing the gruesome scene before them, they were momentarily at a loss for words.
But precisely because Ye Lanshan had killed several Holy Land members, Fu Tian's wariness toward her lessened considerably.
Ye Lanshan naturally wouldn't let the corpses rot in the building. She simply set them on fire, reducing them to ashes.
"What are you two doing down here?" Ye Lanshan's tone was flat, completely lacking the warmth from before.
"We just came to see if there's anything we can help with." Fu Tian had originally come down worried that Ye Lanshan couldn't handle the Holy Land people alone.
But he never expected her to be so ruthless.
"It's getting late. I should head back. Qing Dai, take care of this place." After giving her instructions, Ye Lanshan walked out of the brothel.
The Holy Land's strength didn't seem all that impressive. Walking down the street, Ye Lanshan recalled those arrogant faces and their pathetic combat ability.