"Where are you two gentlemen from?" With her slender hands, Qian Xue lifted a wine cup and gently offered it to Changyi. Their skin brushed for a moment, and he felt a cool smoothness against his own.

Qian Xue and Qing Xia were perceptive. Changyi seemed outgoing and spontaneous, so the elegant, gentle Qian Xue sat beside him. The other, Young Master Lin, appeared calm and composed, so the passionate, cheerful Qing Xia took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"We’re from Xiuyue County in the northern Changping Prefecture," Changyi said, taking the cup and downing it in one gulp.

Guangling County was in the southern part of Bai Shi Prefecture. Farther south lay Daping County and Wuya Ridge. It was a great distance from the northern Changping Prefecture; some people never left Guangling County their entire lives.

"Are you two gentlemen traveling south for your studies?" Qing Xia chimed in, placing a fair, delicate hand on Yangshuo’s.

Feeling the soft warmth and gentle caress on his hand, Yangshuo, utterly unaccustomed to such contact, instinctively pulled away.

Seeing Yangshuo’s reaction, Qing Xia couldn’t help but giggle. She didn’t press the matter. Instead, holding back her sleeve with one hand, she used the serving chopsticks to pick up a slice of meat for Yangshuo, placing it in the small bowl before him. "Eat up, Young Master."

Yangshuo picked up the slice of beef, popped it into his mouth, and replied coolly, "No."

"We’re here for the culture," Changyi cut in. "We wanted to see the famous dancing and hear the singing of the beauties of Bai Shi Prefecture. Broaden our horizons, you know?"

Yangshuo shot Changyi a look but said nothing. He then glanced at Qing Xia, who was sitting beside him.

Qing Xia leaned closer to Yangshuo, her breath as fragrant as an orchid. "Does Young Master Lin want to see me dance, too?"

The puff of her fragrant breath brushed against Yangshuo’s ear, making it tingle. He almost couldn’t stop himself from summoning his Flying Sword right then and there.

But Changyi tapped on the table. Yangshuo then looked Qing Xia up and down before nodding earnestly. "I do!"

Qing Xia saw pure appreciation in Yangshuo’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but see him in a new light. She seemed even more satisfied now, a flicker of greed flashing through her eyes before she pushed back from the table and rose to her feet.

"In that case, I shall dance for you two gentlemen. Then you can judge for yourselves whose dancing is superior—the women of Changping Prefecture, or the women of Bai Shi Prefecture!"

A group of Musicians was playing in the main hall of Feicui Building, the music echoing throughout the establishment. Qing Xia needed no special accompaniment; she began to sway her hips to the melody of "Butterfly Lovers," which the house orchestra was currently performing.

Her sleeves fluttered, a vision of startled grace!

With just a subtle sway of her hips, Qing Xia filled the private room with an aura of enchantment. As her long sleeves drifted through the air, faint tendrils of pink mist began to seep from her body, completely imperceptible to the ordinary eye in the flickering candlelight.

Her figure was exquisite, her movements bewitching. Qing Xia danced on the tips of her toes, her slender waist twisting with a grace that truly embodied the classic poem: "as fleeting as a startled swan, as fluid as a swimming dragon."

Changyi and Yangshuo, who were used to seeing girls sway their hips in short-form videos, had rarely witnessed a dance with such genuine, classical beauty.

Seeing the two men staring at Qing Xia with rapt attention, Qian Xue felt no jealousy. Instead, she smiled faintly and began to hum a soft melody, adding to the mood.

The soft, murmuring song arose, accompanying Qing Xia’s dance and the faint mist in the room. Every note entered the ears of Changyi and Yangshuo, traveling straight into their Sea of Consciousness.

Unbeknownst to them, the soft singing slowly transformed into a series of whispered moans—a sound of both pain and pleasure, temptation and release. It was a coy invitation and a hesitant refusal all at once, stirring their Heart Fire.

The next moment, Qing Xia was beside Yangshuo, her body swaying. Her slender waist and full Shuo Guo twisted and shook right before his eyes. At the same time, Qian Xue rested gently on Changyi’s shoulder, whispering murmurs directly into his ear.

The pink mist in the room grew thicker, and the atmosphere became increasingly intimate, as if the inevitable was about to unfold.

Yangshuo was blushing. He looked toward Changyi and saw Changyi looking back at him.

The moment their eyes met, a sharp aura erupted. A brilliant silver light flared, scattering the pink mist in the candlelight and tearing through the muslin curtains from across the room.

"AH!"

A scream rang out. Qing Xia leaped back, but her human shell had been slashed open by the Pure Yang Flying Sword. Black smoke billowed out, revealing the hideous, contorted Ghost Body beneath, which oozed foul Black Water.

"It’s a Corpse Ghost." Yangshuo’s eyes were sharp. A three-inch Flying Sword floated before him, aimed at Qing Xia.

Qian Xue was also retreating, but she found Changyi suddenly enveloped in layers of a silver screen of light that shimmered with starlight. It looked icy cold, but when it shone on her, it felt like scalding oil!

"AH!"

Qian Xue also cried out in pain. After she stumbled out of the starry screen’s range, her face and body looked as if they’d been doused in acid. She was grotesquely deformed, billowing black smoke and exuding waves of Yin Qi.

"A Mage!" Qing Xia shrieked. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Kill them! Drain their Yang Qi!" Qian Xue shrieked as well. Her fingers curled into claws, like five sharp sickles, as she lunged for Changyi’s chest.

"White Emperor of the West, Great White Star in the heavens, by the White Tiger Seven Stars, annihilate a thousand evils!"

As Changyi chanted the incantation, the starlight in the room seemed to sharpen. It then transformed into countless fine, sharp motes of Sword Qi, which descended upon Qian Xue like an overwhelming storm.

The instant the motes made contact, it was as if Qian Xue was being subjected to death by a thousand cuts. Countless gashes appeared all over her. She screamed again as billowing black smoke erupted to form a Protective Body around her, and she tried to flee.

The women’s screams startled everyone in Feicui Building. Hearing the commotion, many of the guests and courtesans couldn’t help but peek out of their private rooms.

BOOM!

Qian Xue crashed backward through the wooden door and stumbled into the hallway.

Everyone then saw the grotesquely misshapen Qian Xue, along with Qing Xia, who was half-draped in a peeling human skin and clearly no longer human.

A moment of stunned silence fell over the scene. Then, someone screamed. Those who could run, scattered in every direction. Others, too terrified to move, simply collapsed where they stood. A few even ducked into hiding spots, only to peek their heads out, unable to resist watching the spectacle.

"A Grand Mage!"

Qing Xia shrieked again, feeling the Pure Yang Qi radiating from the three-inch Flying Sword. Its aura alone felt like being roasted by fire, making her tremble uncontrollably as a searing pain shot through her body.

Seeing the miserable state Qian Xue was in after being struck twice by that seemingly ethereal screen of starlight, Qing Xia knew they had picked the wrong fight. She and Qian Xue were no match for these two.

"Let’s go!"

Qing Xia flew out of the room as well, intending to grab Qian Xue and make their escape.

But at that same moment, Changyi and Yangshuo stepped out of the room.

Changyi laughed and waved his hand. Screens of starlight descended, trapping the two ghosts. "The North Star hangs low as dawn approaches; the Four Symbols turn in brilliant starlight. There’s no escape for you."

Yangshuo’s expression was placid. He formed a Sword Pointing gesture with his hand, and the Pure Yang Flying Sword shot forward as a streak of Sword Light. It passed through the starry screen and flew toward the two ghosts. "Wielding golden lightning, reining the jade dragon, crossing all paths with ease—Slay!"