It turns out, they were the main characters.

After reading for a while in the study, Mu Zhian left and went to the main hall to find a servant. He said, "Send a secret agent to monitor Ye Yu of the Ye family. If there is any news in the next few days, report to me immediately."

Judging from Ye Yu's performance yesterday, he clearly doesn't seem like the useless person I remembered who was dejected after losing all his talent.

It's necessary to pay a little attention to this.

Ye Yu...?

The servant was clearly taken aback, wondering why the young master would let a spy monitor a good-for-nothing for no reason.

But he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he answered "yes" and left the study.

Knowing too much is not a good thing; this is a saying that these servants must keep in mind.

Let's wait and see what happens next.

Mu Zhian sat in the hall, leisurely poured himself a cup of tea, and rested for a while before getting up to go to the training ground to receive training from the maids.

Wei Mengrou was already waiting at the training ground.

She stood with her sword on her back, wearing a dark blue top and a patterned silk skirt. Her chest proudly pushed up the fabric, giving her a dignified beauty.

She has a firm bust, a slender waist, and long legs. No wonder I wanted to make a move on Sister Mengrou before… Mu Zhian couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times and sighed inwardly.

Unfortunately, the other party was a cultivator at the Refining Spirit Realm, and no one could force her unless she was willing.

Wei Mengrou looked up at the young man in front of her and said with some surprise, "I didn't expect you to be able to last for two days."

If it were the old Mu Zhi'an, he would probably have started crying and begging for mercy after just one day, and then sneaked off to the brothel early in the morning to watch the courtesans dance, and incidentally order a couple of courtesans to feed him some wine.

However, this guy not only didn't sleep in or go to the brothel, but instead came to the training ground early in the morning...

It's like the sun has risen in the west.

Upon hearing this, Mu Zhian simply smiled and said, "I will continue to persevere."

Wei Mengrou raised an eyebrow slightly and said calmly, "I hope so."

She paused, then continued, "You sent someone to investigate Ye Yu?"

Mu Zhian nodded slightly: "That person is a bit strange, I'm slightly concerned about him."

How did Ye Yu know that Bai Ruoxi was at the Mu family's house last night?

Clearly, someone secretly leaked the information to Ye Yu... and the purpose was self-evident: on the one hand, to incite Ye Yu's hatred towards the Mu family, and on the other hand, probably to prevent the Mu family from interfering in the Bai family's affairs.

The other party was worried that Bai Ruoxi's sacrifice would prompt the Mu family to protect the Bai family, so they used Ye Yu.

The answer is obvious: the leak was either from the Gongsun family, who were suppressing the Bai family, or from the Chenxi Chamber of Commerce, or one of them was secretly plotting something.

“The spiritual energy emanating from Ye Yu last night was at least at the seventh level of the Refinement Realm,” Wei Mengrou said.

Mu Zhian raised his eyes slightly, somewhat surprised, and said, "I remember that Ye Yu had a period of time where no matter how he cultivated, he couldn't absorb spiritual energy into the cauldron, and the spiritual energy in the cauldron was even slowly leaking out. Later, he became a useless person... So it seems that he has solved this problem?"

Wei Mengrou nodded gently.

“I saw him on the street two months ago. At that time, he wasn’t even at the Refinement Stage.” Wei Mengrou paused and continued, “In less than two months, he went from being a piece of trash who wasn’t even at the Refinement Stage to advancing to the seventh rank of Refinement Stage. The eldest young master of the Ye family is indeed a genius.”

Mu Zhian nodded slightly.

He's more than just a genius; he's practically a prodigy.

Under normal circumstances, the biggest requirement for the Refining Essence stage is to condense a cauldron within the body, which often takes two to three years to achieve.

Ye Yu returned to the Refining Essence stage in just two months, and even stepped into the seventh grade of Refining Essence. Such cultivation talent is simply terrifying.

However, this is probably not Ye Yu's own talent...

There must be some unspeakable secret about Ye Yu, which is why that mysterious man in black robes is so concerned about Ye Yu, and even offered to hand Ye Yu over to him after the deed is done.

Mu Zhian did not believe that a mysterious expert at the Refining Spirit Realm would come to Tianxuan City without any purpose.

...It's impossible that the man in black robes was Nan Tong, and then he took a fancy to Ye Yu, right?

Mu Zhian shook his head slightly, no longer thinking about it, raised his sword and pointed it at Wei Mengrou who stood gracefully, saying, "Come on, Sister Mengrou, please give me your guidance!"

Wei Mengrou gave a soft "hmm," her attitude still appearing indifferent.

However, when she raised her sword to face Mu Zhian, the look in her eyes as she looked at the boy seemed to soften slightly.

……

For the next two days, Mu Zhian received the same paper crane replies every day.

The "caged bird" girl in the letter went from initial hesitation to being encouraged by Mu Zhian, and finally, in this reply today, she has decided to leave her tribe and pursue her own freedom.

Mu Zhian was very pleased with this and gave her some more words of encouragement, also reminding her to bring money when she went out.

Yes... According to Mu Zhian's impression, that girl was probably a naive and ignorant person. She probably always had servants with her when she went out, so she probably wouldn't know to bring money or food.

After writing the letter, Mu Zhian, as usual, folded it into a paper crane and threw it out the window.

That afternoon, Mu Zhian was sitting in his study reading when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Young Master Mu, I'm back."

He was a spy who was ordered by Mu Zhian to monitor Ye Yu a couple of days ago.

"You're back in just two days, did you get some news...?" Mu Zhian said in a deep voice, "Come in."

A man wearing a black veil quietly entered the study and said respectfully, "Young Master is indeed a prophet. That Ye Yu is indeed strange."

Glancing at Mu Zhian, who remained calm, the spy continued, "This morning, the Ye family held a clan competition, and Ye Yu defeated several geniuses in the clan... I observed his level at the time, and he was at least at the seventh level of the Refining Essence stage."

Sister Mengrou's judgment of people is indeed very accurate; she truly deserves to be a master of the Refining Spirit Realm... Mu Zhian understood slightly and asked, "Is there any other information?"

"Ye Yu seems to be getting very close to the third young master of the Gongsun family these past two days," the spy said.

"How did Ye Yu end up getting involved with Gongsun Zan?"

Mu Zhian frowned secretly, feeling somewhat surprised.

The patriarch of the Gongsun family has six children. The third son is named Gongsun Zan, who, like Mu Zhian, has a terrible reputation in Tianxuan City.

However, if we're comparing who's worse, Mu Zhian is still much better than Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan would make a move on any woman he liked, regardless of whether she was married or not, while Mu Zhian would at least not harass respectable women.

He usually only seeks out top courtesans, but occasionally he might take a fancy to some pretty girls, though he usually wins their hearts through pursuit.

No matter the era, as long as you have money, it's easier to pursue girls. Moreover, Mu Zhian has a great foundation; his gentle and handsome face can easily capture the hearts of young girls.

In short, people in Tianxuan City generally try to avoid Gongsun Zan and have no interaction with him.

Logically speaking, Ye Yu should have known about Gongsun Zan's reputation and should have avoided him. So why did Ye Yu not only not avoid him but also have some interaction with him...?

After pondering for a moment, Mu Zhian dismissed the secret agents, got up and left the study, walking along the corridor towards the courtyard gate.

"Young Master, are you going out?"

The old man was watering the flowers in the yard when he saw Mu Zhian and couldn't help but ask.

"Hmm... I'm going to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue)." Mu Zhian nodded.

The old man: "?"

Normally, Mu Zhian would sneak off to the brothel, and if he bumped into someone, he would try to get away with it by making jokes. But today he was so direct...?

Finally, you've stopped pretending?

Mu Zhian continued to explain, "I'm going to find someone."

Gongsun Zan was also a frequent visitor to the Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment venue), and he wanted to test him to see if he could get some information out of him.

The old man gave a soft "hmm" and said, "Just be careful to exercise restraint."

Clearly, he did not believe Mu Zhian's words.

Go to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district) to find someone? Who can you ask?

A courtesan?

Mu Zhian did not explain, but just smiled and was about to walk out of the courtyard.

At this moment, a servant hurried over and whispered:

"Young Master, Miss Bai is requesting an audience in the side hall."

As he spoke, his gaze toward Mu Zhian was filled with a strange mix of envy and amusement.

The strangeness stemmed from the confusion as to why this beauty from Tianxuan City had been visiting the Mu family every few days these past two days, while the envy arose from the fact that this young master Mu could be in contact with the beauty every day... who knows, they might have already had some intimate encounters.

If the people of Tianxuan City knew that it was Mu Zhian who ultimately won over this beauty, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep soundly in their dreams.

"Bai Ruoxi is here?"

Mu Zhian repeated himself, then pondered for a moment and said, "Tell her to wait for me at the teahouse opposite the Jiaofangsi."

The servant hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but glance at Mu Zhian, tentatively asking, "Young Master... if Miss Bai asks where you went, what should I say?"

"Say what you mean, tell the truth," Mu Zhian said with a smile.

"Or you can just tell her that I'm going to the brothel."

Chapter 10 Walkthrough

Bai Ruoxi sat on a chair in the side room; the tea on the table had long since gone cold.

She frowned, pursed her lips, and looked absent-minded.

That's understandable, since Mu Zhian had previously said he would give him two or three more days to consider it, and now two whole days have passed. The longer it drags on, the greater the Bai family's losses will be. Today, under pressure from her mother, she had no choice but to visit the Mu family again.

A servant entered the hall and respectfully greeted, "Miss Bai."

Bai Ruoxi raised her eyes slightly and, seeing that Mu Zhian was not with the servant, couldn't help but feel disappointed. She said softly, "Is Young Master Mu busy right now?"

The servant said respectfully, "Young Master Mu has gone to the brothel and asked you to wait for him at the teahouse across the street."

“The Jiaofangsi…?” Bai Ruoxi repeated the name, her brows furrowing slightly.

She couldn't quite understand Mu Zhian's actions.

Generally speaking, who would openly talk to a woman in a brothel?

Unless the other party doesn't consider that woman a romantic partner at all.

But that's impossible...