Chapter 143| Chapter 144| Chapter 145
Chapter 143: Cook
“Those of us who have just come in, no matter if we were abducted or sold by our families, can never leave the Fengyue Tower,” Ling’er said, a heavy, gloomy look clouding her eyes. “Unless you work your way up to become a clerk, you can never step outside.”
Lu Yunxi wasn’t really listening to her. Her eyes were locked onto the floating system panel in the air.
Her experience bar, which had been stagnant for ages, had actually budged a little! It was just a tiny sliver, but it was undeniable progress.
Surged with joy, she carefully retraced everything that had happened over the last few days. When she was selling flowers, the bar hadn’t budged. Was it because she got knocked out? Or because she was trafficked? Or maybe…
She suddenly snapped her head up and looked at the little girl beside her, a grin spreading across her face like a big bad wolf targeting a lamb.
She sat down cross-legged on the floor and patted the empty space beside her. “Come, sit down. Let’s chat.”
The little girl’s name was Ling’er. Her family had sold her to the Fengyue Tower a year ago, and she currently worked as a low-level handyman.
The inhabitants of the estate were split into two main groups: the courtesans who entertained clients and the support staff.
The courtesans were ranked into five distinct tiers. From highest to lowest, they were the Primrose, the Clerk, the Waitress, the Barmaid, and the Bar Girl. Once a girl managed to promote to the rank of Clerk, she was granted the freedom to leave the grounds. As for the support staff, the roster included servants, cooks, thugs, and maids. Among those, only the cooks and the thugs were allowed outside; the rest were strictly forbidden from leaving the premises.
“Then I want to be a thug. Is that allowed?” Lu Yunxi asked after a moment of silent calculation.
Since her physical combat stats were maxed out, it made sense to pick the easiest, most straightforward job suited to her strengths.
“Absolutely not!” a sharp voice barked from the doorway as the Madam strode into the room.
“Madam!” Ling’er gasped. She scrambled to her feet, wringing her hands nervously as she cast a cautious, terrified glance at the older woman.
The Madam spared her a brief glance and waved her hand impatiently. “Get out.”
Ling’er cast a worried look at Lu Yunxi, frantically signaling her to be submissive, before anxiously shuffling out of the room.
Once the door clicked shut, leaving only the two of them, the woman who had purchased Lu Yunxi let her expression turn ice-cold. A menacing glint flashed in her eyes. “Now that you’re under my roof, you belong to the Fengyue Tower. Don’t even dream of escaping! If I catch you trying to run, don’t blame me for what happens next…”
“Escape? Heavens, no! I definitely won’t go outside!” Lu Yunxi stared intently at her rising experience bar, a feral, hungry gleam flaring in her eyes.
The Madam blinked, completely thrown off.
She stared at the girl, wondering if the newcomer was intentionally feigning compliance just to lower her guard. But no matter how hard she searched the girl’s face, she could only detect absolute sincerity and a bizarre, burning desire to stay.
“…Fine, then. You’ll start with odd jobs,” the Madam muttered, turning the arrangement over in her mind. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll clean the main hall in the mornings. In the afternoons, you’ll head to the backyard to study music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Understood?”
“Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?”
“Yes. If you want to rise above the rest and live a life of luxury, you have to apply yourself. If you fail to learn, don’t blame me when I throw you into the lowest, dirtiest dens in the city!” After leaving her with that sharp warning, the Madam turned and swayed out of the room.
Afterward, Ling’er returned to guide Lu Yunxi to the servants’ quarters.
To incentivize the staff to work harder, the Fengyue Tower strictly segregated its living conditions based on hierarchy. As a mere handyman, Lu Yunxi was assigned to a dilapidated room that looked identical to the hovel she had woken up in, complete with a massive, creaking communal bunk bed. Higher ranks enjoyed vastly superior food, clothing, and private housing.
Naturally, Lu Yunxi didn’t care about the amenities. As long as the environment helped her level up, nothing else mattered.
The next morning, long before the sun had even cleared the horizon, Lu Yunxi was rudely shaken awake.
She was immediately sent to the main hall to wipe down tables, arrange chairs, wash dirty dishes, and sweep the floors. By the time her morning chores were finally finished, breakfast was being served.
She strode into the kitchen, her stomach rumbling.
“You’re the new girl? Why are you late?!” the head cook snapped, glaring at her from across the prep table. “There’s nothing left to eat! Tell you what, I’ve got a leftover vegetable dumpling here. Take it or leave it.”
“I heard we had a newcomer, so I graciously saved this just for you. Well? Aren’t you touched?”
Lu Yunxi stared at the offering. The vegetable dumpling had clearly rolled across the filthy floor multiple times, it was caked in mud, and someone had already taken a massive bite out of it. Her expression turned remarkably subtle.
Without a word, she stepped forward and silently accepted the dumpling.
Then, in a seamless blur of motion, Lu Yunxi used one hand to clamp the cook’s jaw open and used the other to shove the muddy dumpling straight down her throat. She instantly clamped the woman’s chin shut, trapping the food inside to prevent her from spitting it out.
“I haven’t even had breakfast myself, yet I’m giving you the only food I have. Well? Aren’t you touched?” Lu Yunxi asked, her face splitting into a bright, pleasant smile.
The cook’s eyes widened in sheer terror. She clawed frantically at Lu Yunxi’s arm, trying to tear herself free from the iron grip. But despite the veins bulging in her neck from the exertion, she couldn’t budge the hand holding her, which felt as unyielding as tempered steel.
Once she watched the cook violently swallow the mass, Lu Yunxi released her grip and offered a gentle smile.
“Now, I wonder if there might be something else back there for me to eat?”
The cook hacked and gasped for air, massaging her bruised throat as she stared at the newcomer in absolute disbelief. “Yes… yes! Just give me a moment!”
Lowering her head to conceal the burning hatred in her eyes, the cook silently began prepping a fresh meal.
Lu Yunxi let out a relaxed chuckle, found a stool to sit on, and closed her eyes to wait.
As the cook chopped vegetables with her head down, she subtly peeked up at the girl resting with her eyes closed. A dark restlessness surged within her. She carefully slid her hand across the chopping board, gripping a heavy wooden rolling pin, and began creeping forward, step by agonizing step.
She closed the distance until she was standing directly in front of Lu Yunxi, who hadn’t moved an inch.
Elated by the perfect opening, the cook raised the rolling pin high, aiming a heavy blow straight at Lu Yunxi’s skull.
However—
Her wrist was suddenly intercepted mid-air. That familiar, terrifying sensation of absolute immobility locked her arm in place once again.
“Oh, why do you insist on fighting?” Lu Yunxi sighed helplessly, opening her eyes. “You couldn’t even break my grip a minute ago. Haven’t you realized that I am exceptionally strong?”
She was trying to pass herself off as a perfectly ordinary handyman; she really hadn’t intended to act so extraordinary on her first day.
“Hmph! If you’ve got the guts to cross me, you can forget about eating a single scrap of my cooking for the rest of your miserable life!” the cook spat, her face contorting with bitter resentment. “You’re just a low-level newbie. Do you really think you can do whatever you want in this building just because you have a pretty face?!”
With a furious screech, she lunged for a nearby broom, looking ready to fight Lu Yunxi for another three hundred rounds.
Lu Yunxi was genuinely puzzled. What was wrong with this woman? Why did she harbor such a profound, immediate hatred for her?
Shrugging, she effortlessly parried the frantic swings. With a few swift, pulled punches, she thoroughly beat the cook into submission, then began casually wandering around the kitchen to inspect the pantry.
“Oh, wow, look what we have here! Sweet and sour spare ribs, braised chicken, shredded yam, braised pork with preserved greens… What an incredible spread!”
Humming a cheerful tune, she pulled out the hidden platters, found a clean counter, and began happily sampling the premium dishes.
“Stop! Put that down!” the cook shrieked, her face turning pale. “Those are the gourmet dishes reserved strictly for the Madam! If you eat her portions, you’re dead!”
The cook was thoroughly terrified. She had only agreed to teach the newcomer a lesson as a favor for a friend; she had no idea this girl was such an unstoppable monster! If she had known she was running into a brick wall, she never would have bothered.
Realizing she was about to be fired and thrown out onto the streets, the cook was overwhelmed with grief, and tears began pouring down her face.
“Why are you crying? If I eat it, can’t you just cook another batch?” Lu Yunxi asked, raising an eyebrow as she chewed on a piece of savory pork.
“Waaah… but we’ve completely run out of fresh meat for the day!” The cook rushed forward, throwing herself onto the floor and wrapping her arms tightly around Lu Yunxi’s legs, her face stained with tears. “Auntie, please, I beg you, don’t eat it all! If the Madam finds out, she’ll kick me out of the building!”
“Please, have mercy! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child at home depending on my wages! If you show some kindness and spare me, I swear I’ll obey you from now on! I’ll do whatever you ask!”
Lu Yunxi tugged at her legs, but the cook clung to her ankles like industrial glue. Left with no choice, she shook her head and relented. She didn’t want to make life impossible for the woman; besides, having an inside ally to help her gather intelligence around the estate would be incredibly useful.
Fortunately, the cook wasn’t just faking submission to save her skin; she genuinely committed to acting as Lu Yunxi’s loyal underling.
In the days that followed, thanks to the cook’s covert operations, Lu Yunxi’s meals were spectacular. While the other handymen were forced to survive on coarse multi-grain buns and watery soup, the cook—who managed the kitchen’s daily shopping budget—consistently skimmed the best ingredients to prepare secret, gourmet meals for her. Whenever the top courtesans or the Madam ordered delicacies like bird’s nest soup or braised sea cucumber, a matching portion always mysteriously found its way into Lu Yunxi’s hands.
Then, one morning, everything changed.
Lu Yunxi arrived at the kitchen slightly later than usual, only to find several young kitchen maids wiping tears from their eyes as they cautiously scurried out the back door.
Chapter 144: Miss Fengxian
Lu Yunxi watched the young maids hurry past, rubbing their tear-stained eyes, her brow furrowing with confusion.
“Master Bao, I noticed a lot of girls are running late this morning… What’s going on?” she asked. Normally, the staff swarmed the kitchen the moment breakfast was laid out. The earlier you arrived, the better your options, so no one ever willingly missed the morning rush.
“Ah, miss, you’re here?” The cook’s face instantly brightened into a warm smile. She carefully set aside a generous, steaming portion of a dish she had hidden away. “Someone ordered stir-fried pig intestines today, so I made sure to save the best cuts for you.”
Recalling Lu Yunxi’s question, Master Bao’s smile faded into a look of profound pity. She let out a heavy sigh. “You mean those little girls? They likely failed to please the customers. I’m afraid the Madam is preparing to sell them off.”
“Sell them?” Lu Yunxi paused mid-bite. “How can that be? From what I’ve seen, the Fengyue Tower is already short-staffed.”
“Oh, my dear girl, you don’t know the half of it,” Master Bao muttered, lowering her voice. “Every three months, the Madam sifts through the roster. Anyone deemed unprofitable is sold down the river, and a fresh batch is brought in to replace them.”
A dark look settled over the cook’s face. “No one really knows where those poor girls end up. Some get shipped off to isolated mountain ravines, while others end up in those… truly dreadful places.”
Lu Yunxi’s stomach churned, a heavy blanket of discomfort settling over her. She quickly finished her breakfast and headed back out to the main hall.
The grim reality Master Bao had shared weighed heavily on her mind, completely robbing her of any desire to take her usual afternoon nap. As she sat lazily on a bench, lost in thought, a sharp gasp shattered the quiet.
A young maid dressed in a pink uniform was walking past, clutching an ornate wooden box, when her footing slipped.
Crack!
Lu Yunxi snapped her head around just in time to see the wooden container shatter across the floorboards. A chaotic assortment of silver hairpins, headbands, and cosmetic ornaments scattered in every direction.
Before Lu Yunxi could even offer a hand, the maid bolted upright. She glared at her with venomous rage. “Are you blind?! Why did you push me on purpose? If it weren’t for you, Miss Fengxian’s jewelry box wouldn’t be ruined!”
Lu Yunxi: ???
She looked at the little maid, then looked at the literal meter of empty space separating them, and fell into a profound, deadpan silence.
How exactly did someone manage to physically assault another person from a full arm’s length away? Was this girl just entirely shameless, or was she simply bad at spatial awareness?
The maid stamped her feet in frustration, her eyes welling with tears as she forced her face into an expression of theatrical despair. “What am I supposed to do now? These are Miss Fengxian’s absolute treasures, and now they’re completely ruined!”
“Miss Fengxian, you say?” A sharp, highly amused smile tugged at the corner of Lu Yunxi’s lips.
Initially, she had assumed she was just witnessing a classic, low-effort insurance scam. But the moment that specific name left the maid’s mouth, the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
Taking two casual steps forward, she knelt down to inspect the “shattered” silver ornaments scattered across the floor. A brief glance confirmed her suspicions: the fractures on the metal weren’t fresh at all. The joints had been deliberately filed down and worn away beforehand. This clumsy fall had been a completely staged performance!
Tsk, tsk. A scammer trying to play a Grandmaster.
A dangerous grin spread across Lu Yunxi’s face. On her very first day in the establishment, Chef Bao had tried to feed her a muddy dumpling, later confessing she was acting under Miss Fengxian’s explicit orders.
How fascinating. She had never even laid eyes on this elusive Miss Fengxian, yet the woman was utterly obsessed with making her life miserable.
“Oh, you’re in for it now!” the maid hissed, glaring fiercely. “You’re nothing but a low-level servant, yet you’ve destroyed Miss Fengxian’s personal property! Even if we sell you off to the highest bidder, your pathetic life wouldn’t fetch enough coin to compensate for this damage!”
With a triumphant huff, the maid swept the tarnished silver back into what remained of the box and hurried off to report her success.
By the time dinner rolled around, Master Bao seized a quiet moment when the kitchen cleared out to anxiously pull Lu Yunxi aside.
“Miss, it’s getting dangerous,” the cook whispered frantically. “Miss Fengxian sent another runner down to the kitchens, demanding that I cut off your rations entirely. I don’t know how many other departments she’s subverted, but she has immense sway over the staff here. You need to watch your back.”
Lu Yunxi offered a reassuring nod. “I understand. Thank you, Master Bao.”
In reality, she wasn’t worried in the slightest. No matter how many allies Fengxian commanded within the walls of the Fengyue Tower, their collective combat parameters amounted to absolutely zero against a Grandmaster.
However, by the following afternoon, Lu Yunxi realized that Miss Fengxian’s influence wasn’t just empty posture.
While she was performing her morning cleaning duties, random staff members would intentionally walk past and scatter trash across her freshly swept floors. Worse still, during her afternoon curriculum—where she was forced to study music, chess, and dance—the instructors suddenly turned hostile. While the calligraphy and painting tutors remained professional, the head dance instructor targeted her with unbridled venom.
“Look at you! Your waist is as thick as a tree trunk, and you have the flexibility of a brick! You are utterly hopeless!”
“Dance is an art form of kinetic precision! You must flow like water when the rhythm demands fluidity, and strike with power when the beat shifts! How can anyone be so fundamentally stupid?!”
“I have trained a thousand disciples, and I have never encountered anyone as dense as you! A toddler could grasp these steps faster!”
“With a face like that, you’re easily the ugliest creature under this roof! I haven’t the slightest clue what the Madam was thinking when she allowed a troll like you to stay!”
“…”
Having her appearance, figure, execution, and strength systematically torn to shreds by a low-level NPC finally struck a nerve. Lu Yunxi’s eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare.
She opened her internal interface, subtly comparing her maxed-out, peerless [Dancing Arts: Pinnacle Realm] skill against the instructor’s mediocre [Intermediate] rating. Her expression turned delightfully sarcastic. Her execution might not be flawless, but her parameters were leagues above this specialized tutor.
Curious about the sudden hostility, she did some quiet digging among the other handymen and quickly uncovered the source of the instructor’s spite. As it turned out, Miss Fengxian was the dance master’s crown jewel. It was her breathtaking, mesmerizing choreography that had allowed her to ascend to the prestigious tier of a level-three courtesan.
During a major city-wide pageant, Fengxian had secured the championship title, catapulting herself into instant stardom and bringing immense wealth and prestige to her instructor. Consequently, the dance master viewed Fengxian as a divine goddess, obeying her every whim without question.
Lu Yunxi decided it was time to have a professional development talk with her teacher.
“Instructor, I am well aware that you’ve been deliberately sabotaging my lessons on Fengxian’s orders,” Lu Yunxi said during a private interval, her face a mask of supreme confidence. “But if your ultimate goal is fame and prestige, my repertoire vastly eclipses anything Fengxian can execute. Aligning with me will yield you far greater rewards. Why don’t we form a partnership?”
The dance master stared at her as if she had lost her mind, rejecting the proposal without a shred of hesitation. No matter what metrics of wealth or prestige Lu Yunxi offered, the woman remained completely unyielding.
“Who do you think you are?!” the instructor sneered, her voice dripping with contempt. “You have a modicum of natural flexibility, and suddenly you believe you’re peerless under heaven? Your pathetic parlor tricks are utterly worthless compared to Fengxian’s artistry!”
Seeing that the woman was fiercely stubborn and entirely committed to making her life a living hell, Lu Yunxi’s patience finally evaporated.
That night, she slipped silently into the deserted dance studio and thoroughly thrashed the instructor within an inch of her life.
The dance master lay sprawled across the polished floorboards, clutching her heavily bruised torso as she stared up at her student in absolute horror. “How… How is this possible?! What is your true purpose for infiltrating the Fengyue Tower?!”
Lu Yunxi frowned, her hands on her hips. “Infiltrating? Watch your phrasing, that sounds incredibly suspicious. I was illegally abducted and trafficked into this hovel by a pack of criminals, clear and simple.”
“I don’t believe you! A martial artist of your caliber doesn’t just get captured by common thugs! This is a conspiracy!” Trembling violently, the instructor dragged herself toward the exit, her nails clawing at the wood. “No… I’m going straight to the Madam!”
Lu Yunxi paused. She opened her status panel and noted that her experience bar had ticked upward by a fraction of a percent following the physical altercation. Her gaze turned ice-cold.
She had finally found a stable environment to farm experience points, and this dense NPC was threatening to ruin her setup. If she was evicted from the premises, where else was she supposed to safely cultivate her mental parameters?
A sweet, utterly terrifying smile spread across her face. She stepped up to the structural support pillar of the studio and idly reached out, wrapping her fingers around the solid masonry.
With a soft crunch, the dense stone crumbled like wet tofu in her palm, leaving a massive chunk of debris raining down onto the floor.
“Are you entirely certain you want to report this to the Madam?”
The dance master’s pupils contracted into pinpricks. She let out a strangled gasp, her breathing locking up entirely as she stared at the crushed stone. When she was being beaten moments ago, she knew the girl possessed immense martial strength—but this crossed into the realm of monsters. Shaving solid stone apart with a casual grip… was this entity even human?!
Having successfully re-educated the head dance instructor, Lu Yunxi systematically hunted down every other staff member who had participated in the petty harassment campaign, giving each of them a thorough, physical reminder to mind their manners.
Granted, raw violence wasn’t the most elegant solution to organizational conflict. But for a Grandmaster, why waste cognitive energy navigating complex social dynamics when a swift fist solved the issue in seconds?
Yet, while the foot soldiers had been neutralized, the mastermind remained at large. To ensure her future residency remained peaceful and pleasant, Lu Yunxi marched straight up to the exclusive second floor of the estate, determined to have a face-to-face chat with this Miss Fengxian.
However, the moment she reached the threshold of the premium quarters, a figure barred her path.
It was the exact same pink-clad maid who had attempted the jewelry box scam the day before.
“Halt right there!” the maid barked, failing to recognize her at first glance. After a few seconds of staring, her face contorted into a snarl. “Oh, it’s you! The clumsy wench who destroyed Miss Fengxian’s priceless silver ornaments! Have you finally crawled up here to beg for mercy and offer your official apology?”
Chapter 145: Stranger
Lu Yunxi raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Yes, I’ve come to offer my deepest apologies to Miss Fengxian.”
The maid in pink let out a cold snort and shot her a disdainful look. “Wait here! I’ll see if the lady is even willing to look at you.”
With that, she knocked on the door behind her and slipped inside only after receiving permission.
However, just as she tried to click the door shut behind her, a hand suddenly jammed into the gap. The grip was harder than tempered iron, completely unyielding against her weight. Lu Yunxi held the door wide with one hand, a pleasant smile playing on her lips, while her other hand easily shoved the pink-clad maid into the room ahead of her.
With a soft click, the door locked behind them.
The maid panicked, though she forced herself to maintain a facade of composure. “Y-You… what do you think you’re doing?!”
At that moment, a soft, melodic voice drifted from the inner chambers. “Xiang’er, who are you shouting at out there?”
Lu Yunxi raised her eyebrows and stroged into the room, dragging the trembling Xiang’er along by the collar. Layers of sheer gauze curtains hung throughout the space, bathing the room in a hazy, suggestive atmosphere, but Lu Yunxi tore them all aside in a single, sweeping motion. The entire chamber was instantly exposed to the light.
“It’s me, Miss Fengxian,” Lu Yunxi said, releasing her grip on the maid and pulling up a chair to make herself comfortable. “Haven’t you been sending your people to look after me constantly? I’ve come in person to thank you for your hospitality.”
She studied Fengxian’s face, her brow arching slightly. The courtesan’s appearance wasn’t particularly breathtaking; she was merely delicate and pretty. Compared to the elite beauties of the same tier in the establishment, her looks were entirely unremarkable. Yet, strangely enough, her influence and popularity within the building were immense.
Fengxian froze, her eyes widening as she stared at her guest with absolute blankness. “Who are you?”
Xiang’er frantically scrambled to her mistress’s side, leaning in to whisper urgently, “Miss, this is that wretched newcomer you told me to sabotage!”
Fengxian blinked, a sudden wave of realization washing over her face. “Oh, so you’re the new girl…” She trailed off, her mind blanking. What was the name of the low-level servant she had ordered her lackeys to harass again?
Xiang’er nudged her again. “Qing’er.”
“Right… Miss Qing’er,” Fengxian smooth over her slip, her expression turning elegant. “What is it you wish to discuss with me?”
Hearing the name “Miss Qing’er,” Lu Yunxi didn’t register it at first. It took her a few seconds to remember that this was the stage name the Madam had arbitrarily slapped onto her profile.
Lu Yunxi leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as a sarcastic smirk touched her lips. “You systematically subvert the staff to make my life a living hell, and you’re asking what I want?”
She hadn’t expected the mastermind to act completely oblivious, putting on such a seamless display of wide-eyed innocence. Lu Yunxi let out a cold chuckle, a sharp, dangerous glint flaring in her eyes.
“This…” Fengxian’s eyes flickered, her face shifting into a picture of pure, misunderstood vulnerability. “Sister Qing’er, I’m afraid you’ve fallen victim to a massive misunderstanding. In truth, I—”
Lu Yunxi’s expression went utterly deadpan.
A misunderstanding? After all these days, she was still trying to peddle that excuse? It would be one thing if random staff members had targeted her once or twice by coincidence. But in a matter of days, she had been subjected to dozens of coordinated ambushes. If this crossed into the realm of a simple misunderstanding, she would adopt Fengxian’s surname on the spot.
Sneering at the empty words, Lu Yunxi didn’t waste another second. In a flash of motion, she whipped out her trusty iron fire poker and pressed the blunt end firmly against Fengxian’s throat.
In that exact moment, a minor wave of regret washed over her. Her favorite bow was an incredible weapon, but it was structurally unsuited for pinning an opponent by the neck. She really needed to procure a domineering, high-tier sword or a massive saber to keep in her inventory, if only to look more imposing during interrogations.
“I don’t particularly care what your motivations were,” Lu Yunxi said, her features hardening as her gaze grew deep and predatory. “But if your people cross my path again, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Her tone was entirely flat and ethereal, carrying a chilling, spectral weight that echoed unnervingly through the room. Both Fengxian and Xiang’er subconsciously swallowed hard, their hearts seizing with primal terror.
It took several long seconds before the paralyzing panic in the room eased slightly.
Xiang’er’s eyes flared with sudden outrage, and she barked defensively, “Are you completely insane?! You’re nothing but a low-level kitchen maid, while our lady is an elite courtesan who commands an entire personal staff! Aren’t you terrified that we’ll have the Madam assign you directly to our quarters? We’ll make sure your remaining days under this roof are an absolute nightmare!”
Hoping to break the girl’s nerve, the maid glared at Lu Yunxi with warning venom.
Fengxian glanced subtly at the iron poker grazing her skin, the corners of her lips curling into a calm, composed smile as she found her footing. “Xiang’er, mind your tongue. Miss Qing’er is clearly a rational person; she understands better than anyone that acting rashly will only ruin her own prospects.”
“Exactly,” Xiang’er chimed in with a mocking laugh, her eyes dripping with sarcasm. “If you still want to survive within these walls, Qing’er, it would be wise not to stir the pot. Otherwise, the elite ladies of the court will ensure you’re cast out entirely.”
“…”
The two of them stood ground with supreme confidence, their arrogance growing bolder by the second, entirely convinced that Lu Yunxi was merely bluffing and wouldn’t dare strike a finger against them.
Watching the duo sprint headfirst toward their own destruction, what choice did Lu Yunxi have? As a helpful peer, she was practically obligated to give them a reality check.
She calmly lowered her hand, slowly easing the fire poker away from Fengxian’s neck.
Xiang’er’s laughter grew louder, her eyes wide with undisguised mockery and contempt as she stared Lu Yunxi down. Fengxian merely covered her mouth, tracking her with a superior glance.
Expressionless, Lu Yunxi raised her arm once more.
SWISH—
The iron poker cleaved through the air with a deafening sonic pop, slamming directly into the heavy table resting adjacent to the bed.
With a succession of sharp, explosive cracks, the massive structure shattered into fragments, collapsing into a heap of rubble that kicked up a dense cloud of dust.
The color drained from Fengxian and Xiang’er’s faces, their pupils contracting into pinpricks as they stared at the debris. Their legs went entirely gelatinous; had they not been gripping each other’s arms for structural support, both of them would have collapsed straight onto the floorboards.
“Y-You… you…” Fengxian stammered, her vocal cords trembling violently. Beside her, Xiang’er was so thoroughly traumatized that she looked on the verge of fainting.
The table in Fengxian’s quarters wasn’t crafted from hollow wood; it was a solid, reinforced stone table. A wealthy patron had taken a liking to the piece, prompting her to have it hauled into her chambers—a task that had required the brute physical labor of four grown men just to lift. Leaving a scratch on a slab that dense was considered an incredible feat for a martial artist. Yet this girl had pulverized it with a casual swipe of a fireplace tool.
Lu Yunxi offered a small, pleasant smile, seamlessly throwing their own logic back at them. “I believe both of you ladies are highly rational people. You wouldn’t dream of acting rashly and ruining your own prospects, correct?”
“M-Miss Qing’er speaks the absolute truth,” Fengxian choked out. She glanced sideways at Xiang’er, who had successfully checked out of reality and swooned onto the floor, and felt a surge of profound envy. Her maid had found an escape hatch, but her own consciousness remained stubbornly awake, forcing her to navigate a conversation with this absolute monster.
“…What specific instructions do you have for me?”
Lu Yunxi sank into the room’s singular, elaborately carved armchair, a mild smile warming her face. “Let’s start from the beginning. Why exactly were you targeting me?”
Cold sweat beaded along Fengxian’s brow, dripping down her cheek. “It… it’s a long story…”
She wept tears of bitter regret in her heart. She had operating under the assumption that leveraging her elite status to break a helpless newcomer would be a victimless crime—at worst, she would receive a mild scolding from the Madam. How could she have guessed she was picking a fight with a literal god of war? If she had known this girl possessed this level of monstrous power, she wouldn’t have dared to look in her direction!
“That’s perfectly fine,” Lu Yunxi replied, her lips curling into a meaningful grin. “I have all the time in the world. Please, take your time.”
Fengxian gritted her teeth, her defenses collapsing as she finally confessed the truth. “Miss Qing’er, I am deeply sorry! An associate of mine explicitly paid me to make your residency as miserable as possible. I swear on my life, I will never do it again!”
Lu Yunxi blinked, thoroughly intrigued, and listened closely as Fengxian unpacked the backstory.
It traced back to the exact evening Lu Yunxi had been “unconscious” from the elephant-grade tranquilizer. The gang of human traffickers who had dragged her to the Fengyue Tower hadn’t just pocketed a massive payout from the Madam; they had also negotiated a heavily discounted night of entertainment with the local hostesses.
“But that very night, those men abruptly canceled their appointments with the girls and fled the Fengyue Tower under the cover of darkness,” Fengxian explained, her cheeks flushing with visible embarrassment. “Before they vanished, they contacted my department, begging me to use my influence to break you. They were clearly venting an immense amount of rage and humiliation… I don’t know what occurred during the transaction, but they looked entirely unhinged when they left the premises.”
“Those traffickers had thrown a considerable amount of business my way in the past, so I agreed to fulfill the favor as a professional courtesy… I beg for your forgiveness, Miss Qing’er!” Fengxian offered a hollow, panicked laugh, desperate to placate her before she decided to shatter another piece of furniture.
Lu Yunxi’s expression turned remarkably subtle.
She knew exactly why those brawny traffickers had been driven into a state of hysterical, unhinged fury. The specialized knockout powder she had released over them carried a highly specific, permanent side effect: total and absolute impotence. The men had checked into a high-end pleasure house fully expecting a night of debauchery, only to realize their anatomy had been completely bricked. The sheer, existential terror must have sent them into a profound spiral of panic.
Fengxian had chalked their behavior up to random malice, but in reality, Lu Yunxi had structurally ruined their lives first.
Still, the most fascinating takeaway from the confession was the realization that an elite courtesan like Fengxian was operating hand-in-glove with a network of common human traffickers.
