Chapter 201

"Wanderer..."

The women all frowned; the moment they saw those two words now, they felt sick to their stomachs.

They had figured it out by now — this type of "wandering rake" protagonist usually shared one common trait——

He was involved with women, and he abandoned women.

How could they possibly not find that repulsive?

……

Mantuo Shanzhuang.

Qin Keqing sat before the table, the bright candlelight lending her alluring face a luminous glow.

Her eyes fixed on the diary page, she murmured softly, "It seems what he told me was true after all."

Unconsciously, her heart lightened.

When it came to being a ladies' man, Jiang Sishui was no better than Xie Xiaofeng.

But the greatest difference between the two was: one had a beginning and an end, willing to take responsibility; the other began in chaos and ended in abandonment, treating it all as a game.

That difference was enormous.

No longer worried about being abandoned, Qin Keqing felt a touch more at ease with Jiang Sishui.

【Xie Xiaofeng dies; Grandson Xie Wangsun, a white-haired elder, sends off a black-haired son, weeping until his old tears streamed down his face】

【But this is also his own doing, brought on by himself】

【This old fellow is certainly 27 no good sort】

【For Xie Xiaofeng's path to the Sword God】

【For his own vanity】

【For Divine Sword Shanzhuang's status and fame in the Wu Lin】

【He forced Xie Xiaofeng to challenge fighters everywhere, killing with every strike — heaven knows how many innocents had their homes broken and Mie Sect-ed by Divine Sword Shanzhuang】

【Now that his hopes are shattered, spending the rest of his Yu Sheng tasting the bitter fruit is punishment enough for him】

【Afterward Keqing asked me whether I would, like Xie Xiaofeng, begin with her in chaos and end in abandonment?】

【How could that even be a question?】

【I rarely met her, and only just happened to arrive before her wedding — how could I possibly not want her?】

【But it can be seen that Keqing has slowly thought things through】

【This conquest difficulty is, on the contrary, much smaller than I had anticipated】

……

【Detected that Jiang Sishui has completed today's diary entry — congratulations, you have obtained one month of true qi】

【Now drawing today's lucky recipient……】

【Congratulations to Murong Qiudi on obtaining the "Heart-Slaying Blade"】

Murong Qiudi spread her right hand open, and a curved blade materialized from thin air in her palm.

The blade's arc was gentle, shaped like a wild goose's plume, its curve flowing and smooth; the slender body of the blade was a vivid crimson, as if it had just been lifted from a pool of blood.

At the same time, a stream of information flooded into her mind.

It was, respectively, the introduction to the "Heart-Slaying Blade" and a paired blade art.

Heart-Slaying Blade: Automatically locks onto faithless, ungrateful persons within a radius of ten li. On the day this blade has drunk its fill of the heart's blood of three thousand faithless ones, its master shall step straight into the Realm of the Heavenly Man!

"Heavenly Man..."

Murong Qiudi's pupils contracted, a flicker of hesitation and struggle flashing through her eyes.

So long as she killed three thousand faithless men, she could step into the Realm of the Heavenly Man that many people dreamed of.

Such a great blessing — most people would probably beg for it and never need to consider anything else.

But Murong Qiudi was innately kind; from childhood to adulthood, she had never even killed a chicken, let alone a person?

And that was a full three thousand people!

Even if those people were all faithless, ungrateful sorts, they were still people.

For Murong Qiudi, this was no small hurdle to overcome.

Murong Qiudi held the "Heart-Slaying Blade," her expression shifting uncertainly.

But then, thinking of her own fate within the story, her gaze gradually steadied.

From now on, she refused to be a shrinking little white flower!

Murong Qiudi tightened her grip on the hilt.

"Knock knock——"

The sound of knocking rose, breaking off Murong Qiudi's train of thought.

Murong Qiudi flipped her right hand; the "Heart-Slaying Blade" shifted from solid to void, becoming a mark that clung to her wrist.

She looked up, and saw the door slowly pushed open, after which a small head peeked in from outside.

Their eyes met; the girl outside giggled, her tone playful: "Cousin sister~"

Seeing who it was, Murong Qiudi's expression relaxed; she smiled and said, "It's Xian'er — come in quickly."

Only then did Murong Xian push the door open and step inside, bouncing forward to throw an arm around one of Murong Qiudi's arms, and said in a sweet, girlish voice: "Cousin sister, Xian'er wants to sleep with you tonight!"

Murong Qiudi gazed for a moment at Murong Xian, whose eyes darted about with clever, impish liveliness, and smiled faintly: "Alright."

That night, the two sisters shared a bed.

Murong Xian, like a little skylark, kept up a constant stream of chatter, sharing intimate talk with Murong Qiudi nonstop, and only finally succumbed to sleep in the middle of the night.

……

Yihua Palace, Lone Star Hall.

Two maids from the Mingyue Palace walked in gracefully, bowed to Lian Xing, and said, "Second Mistress, the First Mistress has emerged from seclusion and sent us to summon you and Hua Yuenu."

Hua Yuenu's heart trembled; she looked up at Lian Xing.

Lian Xing gave her a slight nod and said coolly, "I understand. You may go."

"Yes."

…

Jiang Sishui collected his reward, and the night passed as usual.

In the days that followed, he kept his promise, always taking Jin Jin Lingzhi with him when he went out.

Only when Jin Jin Lingzhi was satisfied did he switch to someone else.

Today, Jiang Sishui was accompanied by Du Bingyan.

Among the two famous beauties of Suzhou's folk circles, Du Bingyan was slightly more beautiful than Li Yuhu.

The "Number One Beauty of Yangzhou" in the drama was also Du Bingyan, not Li Yuhu.

How beautiful was she?

Take the simplest example—

When Du Bingyan disguised herself as a man and entered the camp, she nearly bent the drama's male third lead, Sha Pingwei, making him question his own sexuality.

This reveals the extent of her flower-like beauty and moon-like grace.

Riding together with Du Bingyan, Jiang Sishui made no improper advances.

Women of different personalities require different approaches; Du Bingyan was a refined lady of letters and propriety, naturally distinct from江湖 women like Hua Xianzi and Jin Jin Lingzhi.

As they traveled, they chatted softly, creating a quiet harmony and warmth.

Suddenly, a tea pavilion came into view ahead.

Jiang Sishui asked, "Are you thirsty? Shall we go in for some tea?"

Du Bingyan nodded gently. "Yes."

The tea pavilion was framed with rough timber, roofed with straw, fenced with bamboo, and before it stood a flagpole bearing a string of lanterns and a wooden sign.

On it was written: "Heshui Clear Tea."

After tying their horses to the fence, the two had just reached the pavilion's entrance when the landlady stepped forward with a smile. "Guests, come in and have some tea."

They turned toward the voice—and froze.

Not for any other reason than the landlady was stunningly beautiful!

In her thirties, dressed in coarse cloth, yet with delicate features, eyes full of tenderness, and an aura of captivating grace.

Such a beautiful woman, running a tea pavilion alone in this remote wilderness.

Moreover, the pavilion itself appeared to have stood for many years.

Du Bingyan immediately realized: this landlady was no ordinary woman.