Chapter 110
The street was alive with revelers, peals of laughter and flirtatious murmurs seeming to emanate from every corner.
Despite the bustling atmosphere, Ji Wuye strolled unhurriedly, his piercing crimson gaze sweeping over the buildings lining each side of the busy thoroughfare.
Most were brothels and inns, their painted facades and lantern-lit entrances enticing patrons inside with promises of pleasure and respite.
A few ramshackle general stores huddled between the more opulent establishments - businesses forbidden within the hallowed confines of Tianji Village, the reason for Ji Wuye's visit to this seedier quarter.
'It's as lively as usual,' he muttered inwardly, studying the expressions on the faces of passing revelers with a critical eye. Despite their harmless, almost fragile appearances, each was a challenger who had braved the perilous trials of the 5th floor.
Yet here they mingled freely, neither wreaking havoc nor asserting dominance over the common folk. No air of chaos or fear lingered - they seemed, for all appearances, simply intent on enjoying the baser delights this village offered.
'Well, most were ordinary people who gained power. It still cannot compare to the...' His words trailed off as his eyes were drawn upwards to the village's solitary three-story edifice looming ahead.
Wooden balconies and railings jutted out at each level, vantage points from which to survey the rowdy street scenes playing out below.
Ji Wuye had just angled his head to better study the upper reaches when a soft form suddenly tumbled into his embrace.
With reflexes, he steadied the woman with one hand on her shoulder, arresting her fall. Glancing down, twin crimson pools met widened eyes fringed by thick lashes, grains of rice powder clinging like delicate frost to porcelain skin.
Bold crimson stained full lips, eyebrows arched in delicate wings.
A courtesan, her extravagant beauty created and maintained through cosmetic artistry rather than nature's grace. For a suspended moment, the femininely curved figure froze in his arms, stunned by the unexpected contact.
One a beauty heavily reliant on external embellishments, the other possessing a natural, potent handsomeness - Ji Wuye's cool sidelong look seemed to break the spell over the woman who had so abruptly tumbled into his personal space.
"Oh...my~" She righted herself smoothly, colored lips curving in an enticing smile as she unconsciously shifted with him away from the bustle of the main street to a relatively quieter alcove.
Immediately, the motion drew the interested gazes of other heavily painted courtesans loitering nearby.
Adjusting his bearing to one of refined elegance, Ji Wuye returned her smile from beneath the dark, gauzy veil obscuring his lower face. "Greetings, Sister. May I know where the nearby flower house is located?"
But even with his expression concealed, the upturned curve of sensual lips proved enticing enough to draw the rest like moths to a flame. Fed by appreciation for his striking looks and courtly manners, they converged.
"My hero~ My personal hero~..." one purred, sidling up boldly to run an admiring hand along the contours of his arm. "My fragrant abode offers the sweetest nectar to slake a hero's thirst. Shall I guide you there myself?"
"Big Brother," another chimed in with a delicate laugh like tinkling bells, "it's such a rare blossom that graces our humble streets. Allow this Xiu to escort you through this garden's delights proper~"
As they vied to entice him with whispered promises, the courtesans suddenly stilled, heads turning in unison towards the first woman Ji Wuye had encountered.
Her eyes now glinted strangely in the dimness, a faint, eerie aura beginning to emanate from her curvaceous form.
"All of you, stand aside. This gentleman is mine." She raised one finely arched brow in silent challenge to the others. Strangely, the rest of the courtesans immediately backed away with gratifying swiftness and skill, leaving a respectful berth around the pair.
"Ugh, Sister, no need to exaggerate like this." The courtesan waved one hand negligently, trailing ethereal tendrils of fragrant mist that momentarily obscured Ji Wuye's vision before dissipating into the sultry air.
"Fine, hmph! You're lucky to find such a man," another courtesan snorted, unable to resist sneaking one final, admiring glance over the sculpted lines of Ji Wuye's form before turning away with exaggerated disdain.
One by one the others followed suit, leaving the pair alone in a suddenly quiet alcove.
The glow of satisfaction in the remaining woman's kohl-rimmed eyes was unmistakable as she turned that appraising gaze fully upon Ji Wuye once more. Delicate fingers trailed up the indulgent folds of her ornately embroidered silks as she preened subtly.
"Then why settle for a common bloom when you can savor the rarest, most exquisite peony in my sheltered pavilion?" Her painted lips curved in a slow, secretive smile as the words were exhaled on a breath of camphor and exotic spice.
But even as the blatant invitation hung promisingly in the air between them, something strange began to happen. Ji Wuye's vision blurred, reds and ambers of the lantern-lit street bleeding together in a kaleidoscopic haze before coalescing into a flat, opaque screen flashing warningly before his eyes.
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[!] The Soul Anchor Amulet has been protecting your mind!
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The strange screen flashed warningly before Ji Wuye's eyes. Narrowing his gaze towards the courtesan, suspicion flickered across his chiseled features. "Sure, Sister," he replied evenly, the deliberate honorific a subtle rebuff.
…
As the pair departed, eerie shadows detached from the bamboo-tiled rooftops of the ubiquitous two-story buildings lining the path. Furtive figures, near-invisible against the darkness, followed their progress with unnatural stealth.
"Are you sure he's not a martial artist?" one whispered, the sound barely carrying on the humid evening breeze.
"Yes, there is no jian at his waist, and his aura is weak," another murmured in response. A strange symbol hovered in his upraised palm, the sigil circling slowly as if imbued with a sinister inner light, akin to a peculiar magical skill.
"Probably like the others - just got some lucky skill that allowed him to survive this far."
Clad in utter darkness, the shadowy figures hushed each other as Ji Wuye and the courtesan entered a large, ornately carved building. Only when the heavy door thudded shut did they resume their furtive conversation.
"Then it means he is not a Kunlun disciple."
"Even if he were from Kunlun, they are too busy handling those Dungeons to pay mind to this place. After all, this place is managed by The Jade Blossom Traders."
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