Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

The three of them crossed two streets and arrived at the entrance of Taibai Tower.

Taibai Tower was much more magnificent than Xu Xian had imagined. It was a three-story wooden building with upturned eaves and red lanterns hanging on each floor. From a distance, it looked like a fairy palace floating in the night.

The madam at the entrance, a woman in her forties, greeted customers with a beaming smile. Her face was covered in powder thicker than a city wall.

"Gentlemen, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"

Zhang Hu pulled a fifty-tael silver ingot from his pocket and slapped it into the madam's hand. "Arrange a private room, and have a girl sing a song, a pretty one."

Xu Xian glanced at Zhang Hu, raising an eyebrow. Fifty taels—Zhang Hu's monthly salary when he worked at the Iron Gate Pass was only two taels of silver. This ingot of silver was at least several years' worth of his savings.

"Tiger, why are you suddenly being so generous?"

"Brother Xu, you don't know..."

Zhao Bao answered for him, "Tiger has saved up money at Iron Gate Pass for many years, and he can't bear to spend a single penny. I asked him why he was saving money, and he said he was saving enough to buy cultivation resources so he could advance to the next level."

"Now that I'm following you, Brother Xu, my cultivation level has reached the rank of rank, and my salary has increased. My obsession with saving money has suddenly disappeared. Moreover... we've found that spending money on you, Brother Xu, seems to be more effective."

Exposed, Zhang Hu retorted defiantly, "What's wrong with buying Brother Xu drinks! I didn't spend your money!"

The madam chuckled and tucked the silver into her sleeve before personally leading them to a private room on the third floor.

The private room was exquisitely decorated, with a mahogany round table, four embroidered stools, a guqin by the window, and a soft couch behind a screen.

Opening the window, you can see the night view of the inner lake below, with the lights of the entire building reflected on the water, creating a shimmering effect.

Zhao Bao leaned out of the window, but the cold wind from the lake blew down his neck, so he pulled back in.

The waiter brought out the wine and dishes: three jugs of Taibailou's homemade osmanthus wine, four cold dishes, and four hot dishes, which filled the table.

Zhang Hu picked up the wine pot and filled a cup for Xu Xian, then filled one for Zhao Bao and himself, before raising his cup and standing up.

"Brother Xu, Zhao Bao and I were able to achieve our ranks and stay in Kyoto, all thanks to you. This drink is to you."

"polite."

Xu Xian clinked glasses with him and drank it all in one gulp. The osmanthus wine was sweet and smooth on the palate, but had a strong aftereffect.

Zhao Bao also raised his glass, "Brother Xu, from now on, I'll be the first to charge in if we get into a fight."

"ha..."

Xu Xian waved his hand with a smile, "You two don't need to rush to the front. Charging is my job. Your job is to come back alive."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank it down.

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After a few drinks, the atmosphere relaxed considerably, and Zhang Hu became more talkative, starting to argue with Zhao Bao about whether the proprietress of the wine shop at Iron Gate Pass had seduced the city gate captain.

Zhao Bao said yes, that he personally saw the landlady pour an extra bowl of wine for the captain, and Zhang Hu said that was because the captain had saved the landlady's cat.

The two argued heatedly, their faces flushed, while Xu Xian watched the scene with a wine glass in hand, occasionally interjecting a comment that only fueled the fire.

Meanwhile, another scene was unfolding in the corridor outside the private room.

A courtesan carrying a pipa was walking towards Xu Xian's private room. She was arranged by the madam to sing, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with delicate features. She held the pipa in her arms, and a plum blossom was embroidered on the instrument case.

Halfway there, a woman suddenly walked towards me.

She has an oval face, foxy eyes, a straight nose, thin red lips, and a somewhat aloof appearance.

She wore a plain-colored long dress with a moon-white jacket over it, the belt tied tightly around her waist, outlining two captivating curves.

The courtesan frowned slightly, about to ask a question, when the fox-eyed man spoke first, "I'm fine here, you can go somewhere else."

The courtesan frowned even more deeply. She had been in Taibai Tower for two years and had never seen this person before.

She knew all the courtesans at Taibai Tower, and the newcomers would also keep in touch with each other. They would either come from other brothels or not work in this line of work.

"Why haven't I seen you before?"

With a slight smirk, she leaned close to the courtesan's ear and whispered something that made his pupils dilate in shock.

"My man is inside, are you still going in?"

The courtesan subconsciously glanced down at the other woman's chest, then looked down at her own bare chest. She involuntarily took a step back, clutching her pipa, and turned to leave.

"Having big breasts is nothing special. I'd rather have them than be heavy."

Foxy eyes glanced down at her chest, her brows furrowing slightly. She reached out and tightened her belt even more, making it sag.

Then she took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the private room.

The moment the door opened, Zhang Hu and Zhao Bao were arguing about whether the landlady had an affair with Lord Cao. Xu Xian was holding a wine glass, about to say something, when he saw the person standing at the door and stopped drinking.

Zhang Hu's words caught in his throat, Zhao Bao's hand holding the food froze in mid-air, and the three of them stared at the door.

Oval face.

Fox-like eyes.

Her skin was as white as snow, and her brows and eyes carried a hint of cold aloofness, yet her slightly upturned eyes also held an indescribable charm.

The most problematic thing was that the excessively tight belt created an exaggerated curve in her breasts, while her waist was so thin that it looked like it could be grasped in one hand.

Xu Xian snapped out of his reverie and greeted her, "Young lady, what's your name? What talents do you have?"

With a seductive gaze, she slowly closed the door, one hand behind her back pressing down on the soft whip hidden inside her belt, a smirk playing on her lips.

"My talent is—to take your life!"

With a sudden burst of strength, the figure flashed past the doorway, pulled out a twelve-foot-long soft whip from his pocket, and lashed down with the tip of the whip.

Xu Xian's pupils contracted sharply, and he dodged to the side. The whip tip grazed his left arm, tearing a hole in his robe, and his arm burned with pain.

He rolled to the edge of the table, grabbed the goose-feather knife, and with his left hand shoved the still-stunned Zhang Hu and Zhao Bao backward. "Get out of the way!"

Zhang Hu and Zhao Bao did not retreat.

The two men simultaneously drew their swords and charged towards Foxy Eyes. Zhang Hu slashed from the side, while Zhao Bao thrust straight at them from the front. Their coordination was much better than when they were in the Green Wolf Forest—their sword speed and power had indeed increased significantly after reaching the next level.

Without even glancing at them, the fox-eyed woman swept Zhao Bao's waist with her left leg, sending him flying and crashing into the screen. With her right hand, she used her soft whip to wrap around Zhang Hu's blade, pulling and swinging it. Zhang Hu, blade and all, crashed into the wall with a muffled groan and slid to the ground, unconscious.

Zhao Bao struggled to his feet from behind the shattered screen and was about to warn Brother Xu to be careful when Foxy Eyes lashed him across the chest with a whip.

The whip, imbued with internal force, pierced through Zhao Bao's clothes, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and fall backward to the ground.

Xu Xian squatted by the table, pressing on the wound on his left arm, blood seeping from between his fingers, his eyes fixed on the rhythm of the fox-eyed woman's attacks.

He is at the fourth level of Body Tempering, a realm higher than him.

The whip used is a soft weapon, with a wide attack range but blind spots at close range.

It is fast, but there is a gap between each lash – about half a breath.

He put down the knife and let his injured left arm hang at his side. His right hand was open with five fingers spread, and a faint golden light flowed in his palm.

With a foxy glint in her eye, she flicked the whip, shaking off the blood droplets from the tip, and attacked Xu Xian's face again.

Xu Xian did not retreat—retreating would only result in being chased and beaten with a whip.

He took a step forward, raised his left foot to take the blow, and a bloody welt appeared on his thigh, his skin torn and bleeding. He gritted his teeth, wrapped his leg around the whip, and used the sole of his boot to press the whip firmly into the floor.

Foxy Eyes tried to pull back but couldn't. Just as she was about to abandon the whip and strike with her palm, Xu Xian's right palm arrived.

"The dragon that soars too high will regret it."

A golden palm strike, imbued with the fierce power of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, flew out of her hand and struck the fox-eyed woman's chest. She sneered and raised her right palm to meet the blow head-on.

The two men's palms collided in mid-air, and the oil lamp in the private room was momentarily dimmed by the shockwave.

Foxy Eyes was jolted back half a step, her palms going numb.

She sneered and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "I knew you had a powerful palm technique."

Xu Xian sneered, the golden light in his right hand shining even brighter than before. "Do you know there's a second strike coming?"

"The dragon soars in the sky!"