Chapter 121 - Smacking the Courtesan
Chapter 121 - Smacking the Courtesan
Li Qingshan knocked her hand away rudely, but Ge Jian said, “If you want us to take care of you, that’ll depend on what you have!”
“Don’t worry, it’s all the best. Lady Furong is currently waiting. Today, she’s not receiving any customers other than the three of you. You have no idea how many people we’ve offended because of this.”
At this moment, as if it was an attempt to prove what she said, a skinny man grabbed the procuress’s hand as he sobbed. “Mother, I have to see Furong tonight. I’ll give you anything you want.” Afterwards, two sturdy guards who were second-rate masters at the very least rushed over, grabbing him and throwing him out.
All of the men there showed envy and eagerness when they heard the three of them would be received by Furong. Even Diao Fei, who remained cold and indifferent most of the time, became curious.
The procuress rambled as she flirted with Ge Jian, ogling at him. Diao Fei would listen in at times and look at the men and women in the hall at others; there was too much to take in. He had spent most of his time cultivating in his sect, so he obviously had not seen something like this before.
Li Qingshan instead raised his head and looked up. The Parlour of Clouds and Rain was designed with a hollow centre, so he could see the very top right from the ground floor. It was covered in paintings of dancing and floating women. The corridors of each floor stretched upwards as rings, and the sounds of songs and musical instruments filled the entire place. The customers were most numerous on the ground floor as they spent time with pretty women of the lowest class. The burning aura of lust seemed to gush through the roof.
Absent-mindedly, Li Qingshan seemed to see the women in the paintings move. Their eyes revolved, charming all people. But at a closer glance, they seemed to turn back into paintings. Was he mistaken?
The best room was on the top floor of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, specially prepared for esteemed customers. Three Qi Practitioners from the Hawkwolf Guard were obviously the most esteemed customers they could have.
Under the lead of the procuress, they climbed up the stairs, passing by many rooms. Through his extraordinary hearing, Li Qingshan clearly heard the sounds of love between many men and women, which was enough to make people heat up.
They sat down on extravagant cushions woven from golden threads as the music from several instruments rang out from the curtain behind them, forming an atmosphere capable of taking their breaths away. Suddenly, a group of orchid-like dancers came up and performed a dance. They only wore thin veils, which exposed their graceful figures as their feminine features moved about.
As he tasted the fine wine in his cup and enjoyed the song and dance before him, an extremely faint, exotic fragrance entered Li Qingshan’s nose and mouth among the various other perfumes and fragrances. His mind seemed to become even more tipsy, making him want to submerge himself in it without the slightest care in the world.
Among the dancing women, the figure of a lady faded in and out, performing a fast and disorderly dance. She seemed like the moon in the night sky, surrounded by stars. As she was partially hidden, they would only be able to catch fleeting glimpses of her, only to see a face shrouded by a veil. Who was she? Was she Furong?
The pitch of the music from the instruments suddenly rose to the very top, and the dancers dispersed. The woman appeared before everyone, leaving her as the only one present dancing fervently. Li Qingshan and Diao Fei watched with so much concentration that they even failed to notice Ge Jian’s departure.
In the corridor outside, Ge Jian said to the procuress, “This is something arranged by our boss Zhuo. You can’t afford to neglect it, okay?”
The procuress smiled. “How could I? Our Parlour of Clouds and Rain does not plan on closing up in Jiaping city. Whether it’s Incense of Enchantment, Dance of Charm, or Sound of Decadence, I’ve used it all. I can guarantee you that the two of them will be utterly bewitched.” She glanced at Ge Jian’s crotch. “Master Ge, have you come as well because you couldn’t resist it any longer? Would you like our Furong to…”
Ge Jian said, “Shut up!” However, his face clearly was unnaturally flushed. He had lost control of his emotions slightly as well. Clearly, these three things had affected him as well. However, Zhuo Zhibo had purposefully ordered him to never touch that woman. Quite a few Qi Practitioners had been destroyed while they were on top of her, with even more regular people of the jianghu. The most terrifying part of all of this was that none of these people actually regretted it at all. They would still be willing to give her everything they possessed.
At this moment, the veil hit the floor in the room as if it was a slight accident during her fervent dancing. Furong stood there, at a loss as for what to do, and the music stopped conveniently.
The two men were stunned together. Li Qingshan felt incredibly amazed once again, but he was unable to accurately describe the woman’s appearance. It was hazy, like there was a layer of mist that separated them. Within it, he vaguely saw Xuanyue and Gu Yanying, or even going to an even more distant past, to his first love of his past life. His mind was lost, and his heart was enchanted.
Diao Fei stared straight at Furong as he murmured, “A’ning!” The wine in his cup had already spilt all over the floor, but he was not aware of it at all. Many memories flooded through his head, along with the unforgettable feelings of pain and happiness. He wanted to protect her, to have her all to himself.
Furong sneered inside with the success she experienced. This was basically a piece of cake to her, as easy as it could get. And, her target this time was only the teenager, which made it even easier. She had already begun thinking about how she would use him and how she could get some more pills. She had heard the treatment that Hawkwolf guards received was rather impressive, so she should be able to squeeze quite a lot out of him. However, he was only a first layer Qi Practitioner, so she probably could not squeeze him for too long. However, the other might be able to make her break through once again with her cultivation, reaching the third layer.
Thump! Thump! Thump! A few, gentle sounds rang out from the jar on Li Qingshan’s waist, which jolted Li Qingshan back to his senses. Xiao An was extremely clever. He would never make anything difficult for Li Qingshan, so he had always been extremely quiet when he was in the jar. This was the first time he had made a disturbance while in the jar.
Li Qingshan immediately sensed that there was something wrong with his body. He began practising the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression, and the turtle shell-shaped daemon core in his body began to revolve and glow, suppressing everything. Whether it be his restless true qi or disorderly thoughts, all of it had been suppressed.
His mind suddenly cleared up. Spiritual qi gathered to his eyes as he looked at the lady called Furong again. The layer of mist on her face immediately dispersed, and her enchanting beauty suddenly faded away into mediocrity. She was not even as beautiful as one of her accompanying dancers or the female attendants sent to receive them. Even her facial expression seemed extremely fake, nowhere near as touching as before.
This felt like when a certain beauty on the internet from his former life took off her make-up. It was basically a travesty. However, this was much smarter than that. She could actually influence the senses of people, utilising the most beautiful components of the women he had seen before so that he would enchant himself.
None of these people had come to see this woman. They clearly only wanted to see the woman in their minds. This woman was shamelessly using the most wonderful memories of these people.
Was this an art of charm just like the legends? Li Qingshan frowned. He was not an idiot. He immediately understood the twisted, vile nature of this. Originally, he believed that while he could not wander through Jiaping city freely with his current strength, there were no opponents he could not handle, which was why he entered the Parlour of Clouds and Rain fearlessly. He was confident that as long as he kept himself under control, no one would be able to harm him. However, the various tricks and tactics of this human world had surpassed his imagination.
It was said that during the process of cultivation, various external demons would appear for cultivators, disturbing their minds and destroying their cultivation. Wasn’t this it?
Then he looked at Diao Fei beside him. He was basically bewitched as he stared at Furong. However, Furong looked at Li Qingshan in surprise. She had never thought that anyone would be able to break free from her charming arts. Under his pressing gaze, she could not help but take a step back.
Slap! There was a loud and clear smack.
Ge Jian and the procuress looked at each other. When they rushed into the room, all they saw was Li Qingshan standing up. On the other hand, Diao Fei was on the ground, having been sent flying by a slap. The clear outline of a hand remained on his face. A sliver of blood oozed from his mouth, only demonstrating the force of the smack.
Diao Fei was just about to fight back out of anger, but a hand clamped down on his neck. A terrifying murderous aura made him freeze. He felt like as long as he moved slightly, his neck would be snapped.
“What are you trying to do?”
Li Qingshan lifted him before Furong. “Look carefully!”
Diao Fei had already begun to circulate his true qi subconsciously. Fury and fear broke him out of his prior state. Furong seemed to have forgotten to continue using her charming arts after being taken by surprise, so Diao Fei experienced the same thing as Li Qingshan earlier. He saw the surprising difference and immediately became stunned. That was not his A’ning. A’ning was no longer a part of this world.
The procuress cried out, “W- w- what are you doing?”
Ge Jian yelled out in a righteous manner, “Stop!”
Li Qingshan let go. “His manner from before was disgusting, so I couldn’t help myself but to smack him.”
Diao Fei collapsed on the ground and only said after quite a while, “Thank you!” Originating from a sect, he knew much more about charming arts than Li Qingshan. He knew just what would happen if he fell for it. Once people had fallen too deeply into it, even their own family would not be able to wake them up from the enchantment.
Li Qingshan pointed at Furong and said to the procuress, “Get this ugly woman out of here, or I won’t be able to help myself against her either.”
Furong screamed out, “Just by you?!” She even had a deep, husky voice. She was used to controlling men in her palms through her charming arts, so when had she ever been treated like that? In particular, being called ‘an ugly woman’ infuriated her. However, her face became even more twisted and uglier as a result.
The procuress said angrily, “Master Ge, isn’t this newcomer of yours a little too unruly?” How could a measly first layer Qi Practitioner be so rude to her? If it were not for his identity as a Hawkwolf guard, she would have attacked him already.
Li Qingshan suddenly vanished from his location, appearing in front of Furong. He raised his right arm and lashed out viciously.
Within ten steps of him, he was even more terrifying than having a whole country as an opponent.
Li Qingshan used his powerful body and followed through with what he said. Although Furong was a second layer Qi Practitioner, she was not skilled in battle, as she focused on charming techniques. It was as if she had never imagined Li Qingshan would stoop as low as to hit a woman before so many people.
You bring me a fucking sham, a fake woman, to fool me, and you still have the nerve to call me unruly? You’re not in a good mood, but I’m in an even worse mood. The fury from being fooled had almost turned into anger out of humiliation. It put him in a horrible mood.
He responded with his actions; he turned his hand into a blur, forcefully dragging it through the air as it cracked like a whip, slapping Furong in the face. She spun around a few times where she was like a spinning top. Half her face bulged up, two teeth flew out, and she fell back on the ground as the world spun around her, dazed!
The dancers and attendants were all stunned. After all, this was lady Furong, the head courtesan of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. She had always stood above everyone else, such that even when an attendant served her tea that was slightly cold, they would be whipped. As for verbally insulting her, even just questioning her beauty slightly, that would only lead to death!