Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 238 The Enchanting Woman
Bai Yingluo carried her empty tofu cart and walked briskly back to the tofu shop in the south of the city.

The afterglow of the setting sun cast a long shadow over her, children on the street laughed and played, and vendors' cries rose and fell, everything was full of vibrant human warmth.

These past few days, Yuan Xiao'e, who disguised herself as a tofu seller, has experienced a life she had never lived before.

Although it's boring, watching ordinary people argue heatedly over a few coins can be quite amusing.

Especially Chen Ye; just thinking about his handsome face made Bai Yingluo's lips unconsciously curl upwards.

This prey is getting more and more interesting.

Just as her thoughts were racing, a figure appeared out of nowhere at the alleyway in front of her, blocking her way.

This was a man dressed in a blue scholar's robe, who looked like a down-on-his-luck scholar. He had an ordinary face and an unremarkable demeanor, the kind of person you would easily lose in a crowd.

But Bai Yingluo stopped in her tracks, and then a deep sense of vigilance and disgust flashed in her eyes.

Pedestrians continued to come and go as usual, seemingly oblivious to what was happening at this ordinary alleyway.

The man in the blue robe looked at Bai Yingluo and the rustic tofu carrying pole on her shoulder, and a mocking sneer slowly appeared on his face.

"I never expected that Her Highness the Holy Maiden of the Nine Nether Sect would have such an elegant interest, making a living selling tofu in this mortal world. If this were to spread back to the Boundless Sand Region, it would probably shock many people."

His words were full of undisguised mockery.

Bai Yingluo's expression remained unchanged as she quietly gazed at the man before her. After a moment, she slowly lowered the carrying pole from her shoulder, then raised her hand and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

This movement was elegant and natural, yet it instantly transformed her entire demeanor.

The down-to-earth charm of an ordinary girl disappeared, replaced by an inherent arrogance and indifference.

"Speak your mind, or shut up." Her voice was still gentle, but every word carried a chilling undertone.

"Stop wasting your breath on me."

The smile on the man in the blue shirt froze.

Although he and Bai Yingluo both came from the Boundless Sands, they were not from the same sect.

In the boundless sands, demonic sects stand in great numbers, constantly waging war against each other, their relationship extremely hostile, bordering on blood feud.

For example, his sect, Yougu Sect, and Bai Yingluo's sect, Jiuyou Sect, have been mortal enemies for hundreds of years.

"Hehe, Your Highness still has such a temper." The man in the blue robe chuckled twice, concealing a hint of displeasure in his heart.

He knew Bai Yingluo's methods. This woman looked charming and beautiful, but in reality, she was ruthless and vicious, a man-eating flower with deadly poison.

"I am Luo Xiu, and I have come to Yunzhou to contact Sun Demao and Li Chengfeng on the orders of my sect leader."

By introducing himself, he indirectly revealed that he was the one who had been hiding in the shadows.

"I just didn't expect things to fall apart so quickly, causing my Yougu Sect to lose two important pieces as well." As he said this, a hint of resentment appeared in his tone.

Bai Yingluo scoffed upon hearing this.

"You people from the Nether Bone Sect, is this how you do things? You were wiped out in one fell swoop, and you still have the nerve to come and yell at me?"

“Sun Demao and Li Chengfeng are two idiots. They have greed but no brains to match it. They were played with by Chen Ye, a mere Zhaowu Captain. They are utterly useless.”

"It's no wonder you'll suffer setbacks if you cooperate with this kind of person."

Her words were sharp and sarcastic, mercilessly reopening Luo Xiu's wounds.

Luo Xiu's expression instantly turned somewhat ugly, and his fists unconsciously clenched in his sleeves.

But in the end, he held back.

"Your Highness is right."

"However, I came to see you today not to discuss these matters, but to discuss a collaboration with Her Highness the Holy Maiden."

"Cooperation?" Bai Yingluo raised an eyebrow. "When did my Nine Nether Sect need to cooperate with a bunch of trash like your Nether Bone Sect?"

Luo Xiu's eye twitched, but he still forced a smile.

"Your Highness, you are mistaken. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, isn't that right?"

He leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and a sinister glint flashed in his seemingly ordinary eyes.

"I want to join forces with Her Highness the Holy Maiden to pull off a big heist."

"Kill that brat named Chen Ye, and his whole family!"

Luo Xiu's voice was filled with a chilling killing intent, as if he could already see the scene of Chen Ye's family being beheaded.

In his view, Bai Yingluo had no reason to refuse this proposal.

Their Demonic Sect has always acted without restraint, indulging in swift retribution and revenge.

Chen Ye ruined their grand plan, so naturally they had to retaliate in the most cruel way possible, ensuring that he and everyone he cared about would die without a burial place.

This is not only to vent anger, but also to deter others.

Moreover, the Nine Nether Sect has always been known for causing trouble in the Boundless Sand Region. They act eccentrically and lawlessly, and their favorite thing is to make things bigger.

Bai Yingluo, as the Holy Maiden of the Nine Nether Sect in this generation, is an outstanding figure among them.

Therefore, he was absolutely certain that Bai Yingluo would agree to his proposal.

However, to his surprise, Bai Yingluo looked at him with an expression as if he were an idiot after hearing what he said.

"No."

The two words were concise and to the point, without any hesitation.

Luo Xiu's expression froze instantly.

"What did you say?" He almost thought he had misheard.

"I said, I won't." Bai Yingluo repeated, her tone tinged with impatience. "Are you deaf, or are you out of your mind?"

Luo Xiu was completely stunned.

Refused?
"Why?" he couldn't help but ask. "Your Highness, Chen Ye is our common enemy! He ruined our plans and destroyed our arrangements in Yunzhou. Don't you hate him at all? Don't you want to kill him?"

He stared intently at Bai Yingluo, trying to discern something from her face.

But Bai Yingluo's expression remained calm, so calm that it made him feel a little uneasy.

"There's no why," Bai Yingluo said coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"I'm not interested, okay?"

She paused, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly, flashing with a dangerous light.

"And let me tell you, Chen Ye is my prey. If you dare to lay a finger on him, you'll lose your head."

After saying that, she didn't even bother to look at Luo Xiu again. She bent down, picked up the tofu cart from the ground, turned around and left, leaving behind only a slender and resolute back view.

Luo Xiu was the only one left standing at the alley entrance, his expression incredibly complex.

Shock, confusion, bewilderment, and other emotions all eventually turned into anger.

prey?

What kind of bullshit reason is that!
He knew the Nine Nether Sect's style of doing things all too well. They liked to slowly toy with their prey and enjoy the process of their prey struggling in fear and despair.

But this cannot be a reason for her to refuse to cooperate, or even to warn herself!
……

On the other side, Bai Yingluo carried a load on her shoulder, her steps seemingly steady, but in reality, her heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

She didn't know why she blurted out that he was her prey.

Perhaps this is just an excuse to avoid cooperating with a fool like Luo Xiu.

Or perhaps...

She didn't want to admit it, but that her opinion of Chen Ye had unknowingly changed.

What started as simply seeing him as an interesting prey to pass the time has now become something more.

The feeling was both strange and unfamiliar.

When Luo Xiu said he was going to kill Chen Ye's entire family, her first reaction was not excitement, but a sudden, inexplicable irritation and anger.

She doesn't allow it.

I won't allow anyone else to touch the toys I want, and I certainly won't allow them to be destroyed in such a violent way.

That man can only be tasted by her personally.

"damn it!"

Bai Yinglu cursed inwardly.

This feeling of losing control of her emotions made her very unhappy.

After walking quickly back to the tofu shop, Bai Yingluo slammed the carrying pole heavily on the ground with a thud.

Old Man Yuan, lying on the hospital bed in the inner room, coughed twice. His body, which she had been maintaining with her secret method, was growing weaker and weaker.

Bai Yingluo ignored it, walked to the water vat, scooped up a ladle of cold water and washed her face.

The icy well water instantly sobered her up, but it still didn't dispel the gloom in her heart. She could only put it out of her mind for the time being and then start a fire to cook...

If Luo Xiu saw this scene, he would be shocked, because this infamous demoness in the boundless sands was behaving like an ordinary woman, deftly doing housework.

Bai Yingluo didn't feel anything was wrong; on the contrary, she felt a peace that she had never experienced in the boundless desert.

After finishing dinner and chores, night deepened, and the alleys in the south of the city were quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog coming from afar.

The wooden doors of the tofu shop were already tightly shut.

Inside the room, Old Man Yuan was breathing weakly and had already fallen into a deep sleep.

On the low table in the outer room, a dim oil lamp cast a yellowish glow, projecting Bai Yingluo's figure onto the wall, swaying slightly.

She had changed out of her coarse cloth clothes and was now wearing a close-fitting black silk dress with a very high slit, revealing two straight and slender legs that gleamed like ivory under the light.

At this moment, she was no longer the pure and gentle woman she had been during the day; she exuded a deadly allure. She rested her chin on one hand, while unconsciously twirling a silver hairpin in the other, her captivating eyes staring intently at the flickering flames.

She didn't care about that idiot Luo Xiu at all.

The people of the Yougu Sect have always been simple-minded, physically strong, and reckless brutes, more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.

What she really cared about was the sentence she blurted out at the time.

Chen Ye was my prey.

These words were like a curse, lingering in her mind.

She recalled her feelings when she said those words over and over again.

It was an almost instinctive possessiveness.

It's like when a child sees their favorite toy about to be taken away by another child, they instinctively hug it tightly.

This metaphor sent a chill down Bai Yingluo's spine.

As the Holy Maiden of the Nine Nether Sect, her mind and character had long been tempered to be as firm as a rock. How could she have such childish emotions?

"What a hell..."

Frustrated, she slammed the silver hairpin in her hand onto the table, making a soft snapping sound.

What kind of magic does that man named Chen Ye possess?
If he hadn't ruined her plans back then, she would still be the top courtesan, Miss Bai, at Tingyuxuan!
But it was this very man who repeatedly disturbed her peace of mind.

The key was that every move he made, every glance he gave, seemed to possess a special magic that made it impossible for her to ignore him.

[This guy is getting more and more pleasing to the eye...]

When the thought flashed through her mind, Bai Yingluo suddenly opened her eyes, a hint of annoyance in them.

She hated the feeling that her emotions and thoughts were being subtly influenced by something, yet she couldn't change it, which made her extremely frustrated.

No, I have to find a way to change this, otherwise I'll only get deeper and deeper into trouble.

Bai Yingluo secretly made up her mind to take down Chen Ye as soon as possible!

……

In the backyard of a secluded warehouse in Yunzhou City.

Luo Xiu sat on the stone bench with a gloomy face, tapping his fingers on the stone table.

Each tap sent a jolt through the hearts of the two black-clad henchmen standing nearby.

They could all sense that their parents were in a very bad mood.

"Bai Yingluo...that bitch!"

Luo Xiu finally stopped typing and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

Being rebuked and warned to his face by a woman, especially the woman of his mortal enemy, was a great humiliation for him.

Especially since the other party was the Nine Nether Sect, which he had always looked down upon.

In Luo Xiu's view, the people of the Nine Nether Sect were a bunch of lunatics who acted entirely on their whims without any rhyme or reason, unlike their Nether Bone Sect, which had clear goals and proceeded step by step.

But this crazy woman actually dared to threaten him!
"Sir, what do we do now?" a subordinate asked cautiously. "Should we...should we still proceed with the original plan to take action against Chen Ye?"

"Move! Why aren't you moving!" Luo Xiu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

"The more Bai Yingluo forbids me from moving, the more I'll move!"

"I'd like to see what she can do to me!"

A crazed light flashed in Luo Xiu's eyes.

He was by nature vindictive, and Bai Yingluo's warning not only failed to deter him, but instead aroused his strong rebellious and competitive spirit.

"Didn't she say that Chen Ye was her prey? Fine! Then I'll beat this prey half to death first, and see if she, as the master, will feel any pity!"

Another subordinate hesitated and said, "But sir, the Nine Nether Sect's methods have always been unpredictable. If Bai Yingluo really intervenes, we might be in big trouble."

"Trouble?" Luo Xiu sneered. "When has our Netherbone Sect ever been afraid of trouble?"

"No matter how strong Bai Yingluo is, she's still just one person. I don't believe she can stay by Chen Ye's side every moment!"

"Moreover, I suspect that the relationship between her and Chen Ye is not that of hunter and prey at all."

Luo Xiu squinted, recalling Bai Yingluo's reaction at the time.

"For a demonic sect saintess to warn our Yougu Sect for the sake of a mortal official, there must be some inside story we don't know. Perhaps she has her eye on some treasure that Chen Ye possesses, or perhaps... she's bewitched by that kid."

"But either way, it shows that Chen Ye is very important to her."

"So as long as we control Chen Ye, we've essentially controlled Bai Yingluo's weakness!"

Luo Xiu became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he had found the magic weapon to defeat his enemy.

The two subordinates exchanged a glance, both feeling that although their master's deduction was bold, it seemed to make some sense.

"Sir, what should we do?"

Luo Xiu paced around the courtyard a few times, a sinister smile creeping across his face.

“Going directly to kill Chen Ye won’t work. He’s a favorite of the Xuanjing Division now, and his residence is bound to be heavily guarded. We won’t get away with forcing our way in.”

"Besides, that crazy woman Bai Yingluo might really be watching us from the shadows. She might just show up as soon as we make a move."

“So we need to change our approach.” He stopped and looked at his men.

"Go, investigate all of Chen Ye's social connections thoroughly."

“His parents, his wife, his sister, all his friends, and all the properties under his name.”

"I need to know what he cares about most and where his weakest link is."

"Yes, sir!" The two subordinates immediately bowed and accepted the order.

"Go." Luo Xiu waved his hand. "Remember to act discreetly and do not alert the Xuanjing Division or Bai Yingluo."

The two men responded and retreated, quickly disappearing into the night.

After doing all this, Luo Xiu let out a long sigh of relief, then leaned back in his chair and looked at the night sky, which was divided into squares by the eaves.

A waning moon hung high in the sky, its cold light casting a pale glow over the entire courtyard.

He knew he was taking a risky step, after all, the Nine Nether Sect was not so easy to mess with, especially the demoness Bai Yingluo, who was known throughout the Sand Region for her madness, and few dared to offend her.

But huge risks are often accompanied by huge rewards.

If he succeeds, he will not only be able to avenge himself, but also gain significant recognition within the sect. He may even gain the sect leader's favor and acquire more resources and a higher status.

So this risk is worth taking!
……

The days at Tinglanxuan were exceptionally peaceful and serene under the warm winter sun.

Qingchen has been staying here for three days.

For her, these three days felt like a dream.

Following Chen Ye's instructions, the servants in the manor all politely addressed her as Miss Qingchen.

The hostess, Xie Weining, treated her like a younger sister.

He not only personally took her to the best tailor shop in Yunzhou City to take her measurements and buy her many beautiful new clothes and jewelry, but also patiently taught her some etiquette and manners of a well-bred lady.

At this moment, Qingchen was sitting in the flower hall, awkwardly following Xie Weining to learn embroidery.

She wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her long hair was styled into a trendy chuiyun bun. Her face still had a bit of baby fat, making her look even more charming and cute. She no longer looked like a little Taoist nun at all.

"Sister Wei Ning, is...is that so?"

Qingchen held the embroidery needle and carefully pricked the bandage, then looked up at Xie Weining with a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.

Xie Weining put down her embroidery, leaned over to take a look, and then smiled gently, "Yes, that's it. The stitches are very fine. Qingchen, you learn so quickly."

Qingchen blushed slightly upon receiving the praise, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart.

Chen Ye sat to the side, sipping tea and watching the harmonious scene before him, a faint smile on his face.

The Lord of Heartstrings' talent allows him to clearly perceive the emotions of the two women.

Qingchen's heart was filled with joy for her new life, as well as affection for Xie Weining and a love for her that was a mixture of gratitude and admiration.

Xie Weining's feelings were more complicated.

She genuinely liked Qingchen, her innocent and adorable younger sister, and felt genuine sympathy for her plight.

But behind that kindness and compassion lay a faint emotion, one that even she herself had not been able to discern.

It was a subtle wariness belonging to the lady of the house.

Especially when Qingchen looked at her with such adoring eyes, Xie Weining's heart would always be stirred by a barely perceptible ripple.

However, this ripple was quickly suppressed by her strong rationality and trust in Chen Ye.

She trusted her husband.

Since he brought Qingchen back, he must have his reasons. What I need to do is to handle these household affairs for him so that he has no worries. However, a trace of resentment is still inevitable.

Therefore, when Chen Ye heard Xie Weining's fleeting, slightly coquettish complaint, he couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

Woman heart seabed needle.

Even a dignified and poised woman like Xie Weining can't help but have such little thoughts, but that's understandable.

Just then, the butler, Chen Zhong, strode in from outside.

"Young Master, Miss has arrived."

(End of this chapter)