“Oh? In that case, I must check out this place with you, Brother Wang,” the scholar replied with a smile.

Yun Ruoyan silently crept behind the three demons as they walked through the city’s bustling nightlife. “Qiuqiu, what do you think of these three demons’ cultivation?” 

Because all three of them possessed a rather strong demonic aura, Yun Ruoyan couldn’t fully discern their cultivation for herself.

“Mistress, all three demons have a weaker cultivation than you, but you’re unlikely to gain the upper hand if they all work together. Even if you can eke out a victory, it won’t be easy,” Qiuqiu replied.

Although Yun Ruoyan was courageous, she wasn’t foolishly so: unless there was a pressing reason, she wouldn’t risk herself if she could help it.

“And if I use some intoxicating fog?” 

Since all three demons had a weaker cultivation than she did, the intoxicating fog that she had brewed once upon a time would be effective against them. Of course, it would be somewhat challenging to target all three demons at once, but Yun Ruoyan was quite confident in her speed.

“That would work, Mistress, but there’s only enough left in the pocket dimension for one of them,” Qiuqiu replied helplessly.

“In that case, I’ll just keep on tailing them. I’m sure that, at some point tonight, he’ll be alone for at least a moment.”

The moment they approached the brothel, they were personally welcomed in by a middle-aged woman with unusually heavy makeup on her face, a clear sign that her target frequented the brothel. Because she was still dressed entirely in black, however, she couldn’t follow them in without drawing attention to herself. 

Instead, she circled around the back of the brothel and scaled the back wall. She landed to discover that she was in the back of the kitchen, which was currently bustling with activity. Luckily, Yun Ruoyan moved quickly enough to hide in a little corner before anyone noticed her.

“Liu Zi, hurry up and serve them!” an irate chef called out from the kitchen, causing a lanky waiter to dash in from the front of the brothel. “Alright, alright, I’m coming!”

As he passed through a rather dim corner of the kitchen, a hand reached out and grabbed him from a nearby bush, clutching his mouth shut and dragging him into the bushes. Liu Zi struggled, felt the back of his neck go numb, and passed out.

Yun Ruoyan quickly stripped off her clothes and hid them in the bush, then took off Liu Zi’s attire and put them on herself. In order to avoid attention, she had washed off the fake birthmark on her face. She walked out of the bush a handsome waiter.

“Liu Zi, Liu Zi! Damn it, where’s that fool?!” the impatient chef called out once more.

“I’m coming!” Yun Ruoyan ran into the kitchen to see a chubby middle-aged man, his face gleaming with oil, wearing an apron and with a big ladle in his hand. His hands were on his hips as he yelled at the younger chef by his side.

“Work faster, faster! Why don’t you have more energy? Haven’t you eaten?” Clearly, the fat man was the head chef of this kitchen.

“Sir, where’s the food to be served?” Yun Ruoyan rushed up to the chef and asked, a smile plastered on her face.

“Right over there, that fragrant perch.” The middle-aged man pointed to a dish with the ladle in his hand.

Yun Ruoyan nodded, took the plate of fish, and turned to leave.

“Hold it!” Only then did the middle-aged man get a good look at her face, and he blocked her path with the ladle in his hand. Arching his eyebrows, he asked, “Who are 

you

? I’ve never seen you before!”

“Oh, I’m a newcomer! It’s my first day of work today.” Yun Ruoyan didn’t seem anxious at all.

“Where’s that Liu Zi?”

“He had a sudden stomachache, so I’m his replacement.”

There was an unwritten rule in this kitchen that any newbie at the brothel would have to make the rounds through the back of the kitchen, or the kitchen staff would deliberately make things hard for them. However, when the middle-aged man saw that Yun Ruoyan was little more than a boy, and a handsome, delicate one at that, he couldn’t bear to do so.

He moved his ladle aside and motioned for Yun Ruoyan to leave. As he stared at her petite form, he wondered, 

Why’s that old hag making him do kitchen deliveries rather than taking guests? It doesn’t make sense!

Yun Ruoyan brought the tray of food into the main dining area of the brothel. She glanced all around her, but didn’t see any of the three demons. Because she saw the old matron continuously ascending and descending the stairs to the second floor with new guests each time, she went up the stairs as well. The second floor was divided into two sections, with one flight of stairs on her left and right leading up. Yun Ruoyan stepped toward the left flight. 

“Where are you going? It’s the other side!” the matron hollered. When Yun Ruoyan turned around to head toward the other flight of stairs, she stilled for a moment. 

When did I hire such a handsome young lad?

“Madam, if we have to wait for our girls, surely we should at least get our food on time?” Someone popped his head out of one of the rooms on the second floor—the demon she was looking for.

“The food and girls are almost here! Please, give me a few more moments!” The matron herself walked into the room, quickly followed by Yun Ruoyan. Inside sat the fatty, the scholar, and her target.

“Quick, serve our honored guests,” she instructed Yun Ruoyan, who lowered her head and set the plates of food on the table.

“Madam, did we come at an inopportune time? Having to wait so long for two girls—and how about those dashing young boys that you advertised? You’d bragged to me about how they looked even more delicate than the most beautiful women here!” Her target laughed as he joked with the old matron.

“The girls are on their way, of course! And as for whether or not I’m lying about the boys, you’ll find out for yourself in a matter of moments.”

“No need for the boys,” the scholarly demon suddenly exclaimed.

“What, Brother Chang, you want to try some women today? Haha!” The fatty drank wine by the bowlful as he chortled loudly.

The scholar pointed the fan in his hand at Yun Ruoyan, still standing behind the matron. “I want him.”

Faced with sudden attention from everyone in the room, Yun Ruoyan quickly recovered from her fluster. After all, given her cultivation, she would be able to escape unscathed even if she couldn’t kill her target.

“Madam, your brothel is truly a delight!” Her target stared unblinkingly at Yun Ruoyan. “Even your waiters are so handsome that even a man like me can’t help being attracted, let alone my brother here. Would you allow him to stay?”

He took out a silver ingot from his robes and handed it to the old matron, who smiled beamingly at the sight of money. She swivelled her head and instructed Yun Ruoyan, “Stay here and serve these three guests. They won’t treat you poorly, and you’ll get more money from this one night than you would in a year’s wages as a waiter.”

Yun Ruoyan pinched her petite hands and nodded, the doubt and worry on her face clearly highlighting her delicate features. The scholar forced himself to remain calm and motioned for Yun Ruoyan to come closer. 

She walked over with small, hesitant steps, then whispered to the scholar, “Sir, there are too many people here…”

When the scholar saw a blush creeping over Yun Ruoyan’s features, he immediately stood up. “Brothers, I think I’m getting a little drunk, so I’ll be retiring early.”

The two demons smirked at him and nodded.

The old matron brought the scholar and Yun Ruoyan to one of the private rooms along the right corridor. Once the old matron left, the scholar seemed to instantly change his demeanor, revealing a wanton and sinister expression as he pounced on Yun Ruoyan.

The next moment, a dagger was by his throat.

“Wh—Who are you? What do you want?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you immediately. I just need your help,” Yun Ruoyan said, then waved a hand at him and enveloped his head in intoxicating fog. “Kill the two demons who came to this brothel with you, then kill yourself,” she commanded icily.

“Eh? Brother Chang, back so early?” the fatty exclaimed.

“Don’t mention it—that lad fainted after just two goes.” He slumped down in his original seat.

“Feh. He might have looked pretty, but his limbs were so spindly that they’d break with a touch! It’s these big-bosomed women you want, eh?” He pinched a rather corpulent prostitute by his side, who yelped theatrically. She smiled, but her smile quickly turned into a mask of horror.

The scholar who had been by her side suddenly morphed into a snake-headed demon, then opened his maw and bit down on the fatty’s neck. The fatty struggled to free himself, blood dripping everywhere in the process and causing the two prostitutes accompanying them to call out shrilly before fainting.

“Brother Chang, what’re you doing?!” the heart-ripping demon stood up, intending to strike out against him, when he suddenly felt the strength leave his body.

Quickly realizing that this was a trap, he ignored his two brothers and leapt out of the window behind him, stumbling his way toward the mansion neighboring the Farsighted King’s manor.

However, before he could get far, a shadow blocked his path: the handsome waiter who had served them.

“Who are you, and why are you targeting me?” the demon asked warily, retreating near a wall.

“The heavens sent me here to banish evil,” Yun Ruoyan replied, brandishing her spiritsteel dagger as she drew closer and closer to the demon.

The demon struggled to defend himself with his rapidly weakening limbs.

“Now that you’ve consumed my cultivation-destroying pill, you’re nothing more than a cripple,” Yun Ruoyan remarked icily. “After digging out so many maidens’ hearts, I’ll have you experience what it’s like to be on the other end of things!”

She thrust her dagger toward the demon’s heart...

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