Liu Qingluo's thoughts were a bit scattered at the moment as she saw the young man with a sword walking towards her and instinctively took a step back.
"I'm not here to seek solicitation." The young man said, somewhat helplessly.
"?"
Liu Qingluo looked at him holding a large stack of silver notes and specifically approaching brothel girls in the street; it seemed he was seeking some intimate company.
But it had nothing to do with her.
Liu Qingluo turned to leave.
Now that she had someone she cared about, she wasn't willing to talk much with strangers, even if she wasn't asked to.
However, the young man's next words stopped Liu Qingluo in her tracks.
"Miss, do you recognize Senior Zhu?" The young man's eyes flickered with silver light, then he earnestly said, "You have the mark of the Chaoyun Sect on you."
He wasn't approaching her because he thought Liu Qingluo was a courtesan, but purely because he sensed Zhu Pingniang's presence on her.
"Zhu... Senior? Are you talking about Pingniang?" Liu Qingluo stopped in her tracks, looking at the sword-shaped object wrapped in white cloth on the young man's back, thinking it was indeed the Immortal Sect.
"Exactly." The young man stepped forward: "I am Sikong Jing, sent by my master to pay respects to Senior Zhu."
Liu Qingluo stepped back, finally looking a bit more seriously at the young man before her.
The young man's clothing—front, back, collar, cuffs, neckline, sleeve cuffs, pocket, placket, buttons—was all perfectly neat, completely adhering to the rules.
With his gentle demeanor, red lips, and white teeth, he was the epitome of a perfect and graceful young man.
He should be a rule-abiding person.
"If Young Master wishes to see Pingniang, you can go up here and report to Ms. Lu on the top floor." Liu Qingluo pointed out a direction to the young man.
"There's no rush for that." Sikong Jing said seriously, looking at Liu Qingluo, "I have a matter I'm unclear about, hoping the lady can help clarify."
"..." Liu Qingluo was very reluctant to talk to outsiders, but since the other party was from the Immortal Sect and seemed to be Zhu Pingniang's junior, she couldn't disregard Zhu Pingniang's face, so she said, "Young Master is too courteous, just speak directly."
Sikong Jing looked perplexed at the passersby, saying, "This place is littered with brothels, and those girls are all brothel courtesans."
Liu Qingluo nodded.
"Why, since life is not as desired, when I wish to use silver to redeem them without requiring them to do anything..." Sikong Jing held the silver notes, puzzled, "am I called stupid?"
The girls were certainly not blunt about it, but after refusing face-to-face, they expressed some gratitude and then laughed when they were far away.
Liu Qingluo: "..."
Holding silver money on the street to help girls redeem for free, isn't that just foolish?
Taking into account he was Zhu Pingniang's junior, Liu Qingluo asked, "Young Master, it's better not to do such things."
"Why?" Sikong Jing's eyes were clear.
"Let me ask, why does Young Master wish to do this?" Liu Qingluo asked.
"Initially, it was on a whim, without reason." Sikong Jing shook his head, but having been rejected by several girls in succession, he became truly curious.
"Hmm?" Liu Qingluo was taken aback, her brows slightly arched, thinking this Immortal Sect member was really not too bright.
"The red courtesans who just passed by don't know what they want." Sikong Jing said seriously.
That lifeless look in their eyes made him feel that being a brothel girl was something very painful.
"The people who just passed by?" Liu Qingluo was slightly stunned, then looked at the sisters who hurriedly left, sighed, "They are night owls, mostly energetic at night, yet now they're still sleepy."
Sikong Jing frowned and said, "Miss, what I want to hear is the truth, not jokes."
"The truth is just this." Liu Qingluo pointed to the elegant and bright tall buildings in the distance, saying, "It's not all a swamp."
What are the conditions like outside the brothel?
Liu Qingluo had been fortunate to witness it.
If receiving common guests, a premier girl might earn about twelve taels; among this, the assistant lady gets one tael each, and the madam store owner gets five taels each.
The store owner then takes half a string of coins from her five taels of silver; this half-string is the silver the girl can obtain.
It's not exaggerated, the exploitation is that severe.
But girls in Beisang City can keep seventy percent of their silver themselves, and due to its proximity to the Immortal Sect, there has been no talk of any monster disasters for many years.
In Beisang City, there is a large group of sisters who care for each other, a prosperous town, a relatively stable living environment, and enough to use silver.
To wade into the murky waters outside?
Liu Qingluo also had the skill of brewing, what would the other sisters do after being redeemed? And for the red courtesans, they had long adapted to life in Beisang City; if this were a swamp, outside it wouldn't necessarily be clear water.
Over the years, who hasn't saved enough money for redemption.
"Young Master, I have things to do, please continue." Liu Qingluo bowed as she took her leave.
Leaving Sikong Jing standing alone, looking at her back.
Liu Qingluo thought that only by comparison can one know the vast differences between people, she presumed the Immortal Sect would be better, but it was no different from before, young people, just that the rich stand higher, Immortal Sect stands even higher.
Clearly, he's someone about Xu Chang'an's age, yet he was tens of thousands of miles away from her beloved.
Xu Chang'an had never said he wanted to redeem any girl, nor did he feel that life here was bad.
But she didn't say she disliked Sikong Jing either, as he was ultimately trying to help the sisters, so she gave him a courtesy salute as she left.
...
Sikong Jing's heart moved.
Was he disliked by that girl?
Why.
He was about to break through the Open Source Realm to reach the Mingxin Realm, planning just to go with the flow.
Having things unclear, just go and ask, it's not something embarrassing.
Recalling Liu Qingluo's last cold gaze given to him, Sikong Jing suddenly felt a trace of unease in his heart, causing his breath to quicken, flashes of bewilderment in his eyes.
His Sword Heart was actually disturbed.
Why?
He wasn't someone fond of beauty, and Liu Qingluo's appearance wasn't exceptional, yet his Sword Heart indeed stirred with Ripples.
He needed to know that his Sword Heart was connected to the Ancient Immortal Sword behind him, the "Celestial Mirror."
Could it be that it wasn't his heart that was disturbed, but the Celestial Mirror Sword stirred?
Sikong Jing took a deep breath to calm his emotions.
First, pay respect to the mountain; as for the mystery surrounding the lady, he would figure it out later, being someone of Zhu Pingniang, there was no escape.
...
...
In this world, there is a strange young woman, her heart high like the sky, now stranded on the lap of a certain young man.
Yun Qian never had someone she liked in the past.
But recently, she openly said she quite liked Liu Qingluo because her brewed wine was delicious and she had good taste.
What it meant for someone other than Xu Chang'an to be liked by Yun Qian was still not very clear.
...
On the Cloud Boat, Xu Chang'an felt Yun Qian's breath falter for a moment, then he lowered his head to meet those hazy eyes.
"Awake?" Xu Chang'an gently wiped the moisture from Yun Qian's eye corner.
"Hmm." Yun Qian sat up and leaned against Xu Chang'an, slowly saying, "I had a dream."
"What did you dream of?" Xu Chang'an asked.
"Dreamt of many people not liking you." Yun Qian said calmly.
"..."
What being liked by her meant, nobody knew, but being disliked by her certainly wouldn't lead to a good outcome.