Chapter 452: Huang Longshi

Xiangguo Lane is named for the Xiangguo Jing located there; it is a land of gentleness where gold flows and silver streams, and countless high-ranking officials, nobles, and men of letters linger and forget to return.

Everyone in Xiangfan City knows that the alluring women of Qingzhou all live in Xiangguo Lane.

In the middle section of Xiangguo Lane stands the famous Baiyu Shizi Lou, and Li Baishi, who is hailed as having "the voice that ranks first in the world and the beauty that ranks first in the world," lives here.

Rumor has it that the upcoming Rouge List will include this SoundandColorDoubleLeaders, Li Baishi.

If that is truly the case, then this woman will have stolen the spotlight; after all, the Rouge List is ultimately more convincing than whatever four great courtesans are ranked among the literati.

Led by a servant with delicate features, Yu Liancheng and Yu Xuanji arrived inside Baiyu Shizi Lou.

It must be said that this delicate servant was someone accustomed to seeing the world, but upon seeing the two people before him, he was secretly startled.

That young woman holding a white cat was full of charm; among all the courtesans in Xiangguo Lane, perhaps only Li Baishi could compare to her. As for the other young man in black, his appearance was handsome, and he possessed an ethereal temperament not of the mundane world; though he was a man, he surpassed countless peerless beauties in the world.

"The fairy sisters in the building like to wake up late; the young master should wait a little while." The delicate servant led the two as they walked into Baiyu Shizi Lou.

Yu Liancheng and Yu Xuanji had risen very early; even after playing a game of chess with Lu Xu, it was not yet time for Xiangguo Lane to open for business. After all, these places of pleasure mostly held gatherings at night, and the halls were desolate during the day, let alone early in the morning.

Occasionally, one or two pretty women with disheveled clothing would come out for some air, yawning and full of a languid air, but they would soon turn back to return to their sleep.

After colliding with a girl who was stretching and still bleary-eyed, the girl looked at Yu Liancheng and muttered to herself, "How could there be such a handsome young man? I must be dreaming."

She was about to brush past, but the girl quickly gave a start, looked at Yu Liancheng again, and shrieked, "Sisters! Come quickly! Such a handsome young man—"

Nangong Pushe had once joked with Yu Liancheng that with his skin, he wouldn't need to pay to enter a brothel; even if he were paid to stay, those women would likely be willing.

Yu Liancheng had laughed at the time: "Likewise."

Little did he know it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Now, this skin was indeed eye-catching; even if ordinary women felt admiration, they would at most take a few extra shy and timid glances. When Yu Liancheng met their gaze, they would quickly look away like startled rabbits.

Procuresses love money, and courtesans love beauty; the girls in the brothel couldn't care about so much, and in the blink of an eye, a large group of women surrounded them, each with half-exposed clothing, slightly leaking passion, chirping and chattering incessantly while crowding around Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng did not mind at all, his face full of smiles.

Looking at his appearance, if not for Yu Youwei being by his side, he would likely already be embracing them left and right; however, his gaze was as clear as water, treating it only as a game.

But even so, Yu Youwei on the side was already furious. What made her even angrier was that there were actually women who wanted to rub against her, and she slapped them away.

Everyone is a woman, all right?

"Alright, sisters, all of you step back; you look like you've never seen the world before." A slightly languid voice came from behind the crowd.

Although no majesty could be heard, the group of women restrained their behavior and retreated one after another.

Yu Youwei finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked in the direction where the crowd had parted; it was indeed the "SoundandColorDoubleLeaders," Li Baishi.

She wore only a casual white dress, but her plump figure could not be hidden at all, especially set off by her petite stature, making her chest appear like mountain peaks and her hips like a full moon. Yet, there was not a trace of flirtatiousness; instead, she gave people a noble feeling, as if she were a princess or imperial consort strolling in her own courtyard.

By comparison, among all the women in the courtyard, only Yu Youwei could compare to her.

As for the other women, they all dimmed and lost their color. Surrounded by Li Baishi, they were like stars around the moon, green leaves setting off a flower.

"So it is Young Master Murong and Sister Yu who have graced us with their presence; please, go upstairs." Li Baishi smiled slightly and led Yu Liancheng toward the second floor.

On the stairs, Yu Youwei's pretty face darkened slightly: "How does it feel to be surrounded by beauties?"

Yu Liancheng pulled Yu Youwei's slender waist into his arm and whispered in her ear with a smile: "I am already holding a peerless beauty of the world in my arms; having understood what is meant by 'a smile in a dream brings a hundred charms, the powder and paint of the six palaces lose their color,' how could I care about common, vulgar powder?"

Yu Youwei's pretty face flushed slightly, and she gave a delicate snort.

Li Baishi looked back and smiled: "I wonder if, in Young Master Murong's eyes, this little woman is also ranked among the common, vulgar powder?"

Yu Youwei's slender, jade-like hand was already placed on Yu Liancheng's waist; it seemed that if the answer was wrong, she would immediately use a skill that every woman possesses.

Yu Liancheng pondered for a moment and rarely used coarse language in front of a woman: "If you give it, it's peerless; if you don't, it's vulgar."

Even for these two who were accustomed to rolling in places of pleasure, they couldn't help but blush, spat, and stopped dwelling on the question.

On the second floor, Li Baishi's boudoir was pushed open.

This SoundandColorDoubleLeaders, Li Baishi, had a reputation and momentum in Jiangnan that was in full swing; she was the undisputed leader of the brothels. Her reputation was clean, yet no one had ever heard of Li DoubleLeaders being intimate with anyone, and it was even rumored that she was still a virgin.

But now, in the boudoir, there was an old man with graying temples at an erhu, lowering his head to tune the strings of the instrument. It was truly baffling; could it be that Li Baishi had a penchant for this? If that got out, the whole world would be shocked.

Li Baishi walked up to the old man with lowered eyebrows and a submissive look, saying: "Old Ancestor, the two guests have arrived."

The erhu-playing old man just closed his eyes and plucked the strings to listen to the sound, as if he hadn't noticed.

Li Baishi gave an apologetic smile to Yu Liancheng and the other.

Yu Liancheng didn't mind and poured tea for Yu Youwei and himself.

Yu Youwei held the teacup and took a shallow sip.

She was as clever as ice and snow, so she naturally guessed that this erhu-playing old man was the other scholar Yu Liancheng wanted to see, and she couldn't help but size him up.

This erhu-playing old man had a secret to maintaining his youth; his temples were as white as snow, clearly at the age of sixty or even seventy, but his face was only that of a middle-aged man; other than that, there was nothing strange about him. She couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Is this the person who played chess with Lu Xu?"

"Yes, it's this old man; he claims his skill in 'hand-talk' is the best in the world, treating the whole world as his chessboard." Yu Liancheng nodded, seemingly not worried about the other party hearing him, and did not lower his voice: "But it's a coincidence; I have never lost a game of chess either. His 'hand-talk' is first only because he hasn't played a game with me."

The erhu-playing old man, whom Li DoubleLeaders respectfully called Old Ancestor, opened his eyes and gave a cold snort, carrying a sense of disdain.

Yu Liancheng said to Li Baishi: "Go and get a chessboard."

Li DoubleLeaders heard this but did not move; she turned her head to look at the erhu-playing old man.

The Old Ancestor's chess skill could be called extraordinary and holy; that nine-dan rank of chess skill originated from him. However, for some reason, he had once declared that he would never play 'hand-talk' with anyone again in this life.

"Little hoof, are you still not listening? Go quickly." Yu Liancheng slapped Li Baishi on the buttocks; it was both soft and elastic, with plenty of feel, and it continued to tremble on its own.

Beside him, Yu Youwei gave a delicate snort and moved to pinch the soft flesh on Yu Liancheng's waist, but her slender, jade-like hand was caught by him, as he had anticipated, and he began to play with it delicately.

Li Baishi's pretty face turned red, her willow-leaf eyebrows stood up, her beautiful eyes rippled, and she glared at Yu Liancheng; after hesitating for a moment, she finally swayed away, and before long, she brought back a box of chess pieces.

The erhu-playing old man never looked at them once.

He, Huang Longshi, had said he would not play chess anymore, so even the Heavenly King himself could not invite him.

"Why are you still sitting there? Do you really think you are Wuming? Playing the erhu for no reason."

Yu Liancheng took a step forward, instantly arriving in front of the old man, reached out, and grabbed the erhu in his hand.

Then, he pressed one hand on the old man's shoulder and pulled gently.

The old man only felt himself floating, and before he could react, he was already sitting at the table to the side, where a box of chess pieces sat on the table.

"Come, play a game with me."

The old man's face darkened, and he wanted to get up and leave, but that hand remained pressed on his shoulder, instantly making his old bones creak as if they might fall apart at any moment.

"When you're old, you have to accept it. If I tell you to play chess, then play, otherwise it hurts quite a bit when I beat people up."