“Was it you who betrayed me? Otherwise, how would those idiots know I ran into the alley!”
The teenager rushed in front of Hua Jian and directly confronted her.
“It wasn’t betrayal,” Hua Jian shook her head. “It was selling.”
“Huh?”
“We were strangers. How is that betrayal? But I did exchange you for ten Spirit Stones. Thanks.”
Hua Jian indicated that the word “betrayal” was not appropriate here.
If she had a good relationship with the teenager, then it would indeed be betrayal, but unfortunately, they were merely passing acquaintances.
They didn’t even know each other before. How could that be betrayal?
It was just Hua Jian exchanging the information she had for some Spirit Stones.
“Young master, aren’t you in a hurry to escape now?”
“You… Hmph, those guys can’t catch me. I’m free now, going wherever I want!”
“Oh, oh, you’re amazing then.” Hua Jian carefully scanned the young man, feeling something off about their physique.
She stepped a bit closer, narrowed her eyes, and sniffed lightly around the youth. A flicker of realization crossed her gaze.
“Sorry, I misjudged just now. I didn’t realize you were a young lady cross-dressing…”
“Don’t say it!” The ‘youth’ quickly gestured for Hua Jian to be quiet, then looked herself over, confusion on her face. “Where did I mess up?”
“You dressed perfectly, miss, but your scent gave you away. If you don’t believe me, ask my two friends.”
Hua Jian pointed at Xia Hui and Hua Xinrui.
Xia Hui subtly stepped back. She honestly couldn’t spot the difference—identifying a woman by scent wasn’t her forte.
Hua Xinrui, curious, leaned in and sniffed the white-haired girl carefully, her expression troubled.
She couldn’t tell either.
“You two still have a lot to learn about cultivation,” Hua Jian said, tapping Hua Xinrui’s head regretfully.
If they couldn’t even do this, how could they be disciples of Ten Thousand Flowers Valley?
“No, no—you almost changed the subject! You ratted me out and had me chased forever. You owe me compensation!”
Oh? Demanding compensation? Hua Jian suddenly grew interested. This was the first time someone had asked her for compensation. How amusing.
“Fine. Tell me what kind of compensation you want.”
“You’re not from the inner city, right? You came in from outside?”
That wasn’t a hard secret to figure out. Hua Jian’s outfit clearly didn’t belong to the inner city.
Hua Jian nodded naturally. “Correct.”
“Take me to the outer city. I want to go to that… that tavern!” The girl pointed toward the outer city, speaking earnestly to Hua Jian.
But her condition was far too vague. Bitterwinter Outer City was huge, and taverns were as numerous as stars. There was no telling which one she meant.
“There are plenty of taverns in the outer city. Which one are you looking for, miss?”
“The biggest one. The one that does… that kind of thing!”
With those two conditions, Hua Jian had a pretty good idea where this girl wanted to go.
But… why would a young lady go there? That wasn’t a proper place.
Hua Jian figured the girl was most likely headed for the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley Inn. But that place really wasn’t suitable for an underage girl to fool around in.
Besides, the girl had white hair and blue eyes—a classic Qian Family look. She was probably a young miss from the Qian Family.
If something happened to her at that tavern, both Ten Thousand Flowers Valley and the Qian Family would be in a real mess.
“Mind your own business! Hmph, if you don’t take me, I’ll have my brother kick you out of Bitterwinter City!”
Oh, so she really is a young miss from the Qian Family. Hua Jian tapped her chin, thinking for a moment.
She figured she should do the Qian Family a favor.
Given this girl’s temper, she’d probably be counting money for someone else if she got tricked.
Might as well do something nice and call her parents over.
While agreeing to the girl’s request, Hua Jian secretly pulled out the token Qian Feixue had given her when they met yesterday and sent her a message.
As an honored guest, she had the means to contact a young miss from the Qian Family directly—nothing wrong with that.
Qian Feixue replied quickly.
From the tone, she sounded pretty helpless. She asked Hua Jian to keep an eye on the girl and meet at the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley Inn.
Putting away the jade token, Hua Jian glanced at the girl. This young lady seemed to be quite important—even Qian Feixue knew her.
And her eccentric ideas had apparently left Qian Feixue speechless. This girl must be a repeat offender.
“Alright, Miss. Follow me. I’ll take you there.”
Hua Jian gave Hua Xinrui and Xia Hui a look, signaling them to fall in behind the girl.
She herself walked half a step ahead, forming a triangular formation to box the girl in.
A mere Spirit Master surrounded by three Spirit Kings—escaping was out of the question.
Now, whether she liked it or not, this girl was coming along!
Maybe she was too excited, but the child didn’t notice anything wrong. She bounced along behind Hua Jian like a kid going on a trip.
At fifteen or sixteen, she really was still half a child.
“I don’t know your name yet, miss. Care to tell me?”
“Qian Feixu. You’ve probably never heard of me.”
“You’re right, I haven’t.” Hua Jian nodded in sincere agreement.
The blunt reply made Qian Feixu’s smile freeze. That was supposed to be a self-deprecating remark—how dare this petty woman actually agree?
Tch. No wonder she only wore such ordinary clothes. That’s what a lack of vision and social skills gets you!
If she’d said a few nice words, Qian Feixu might have been generous enough to give her a few spirit stones as a reward. But now? Hmph!
“I should warn you, miss—that tavern isn’t a good place. If someone sees a lady like you going there, it won’t look good.”
“I act upright and sit straight. I’m not going there for pleasure—what’s there to fear?”
Oh? Not for pleasure? Then why go? Hua Jian sensed something unusual.
The Ten Thousand Flowers Valley Inn was indeed luxurious, but its main attraction was definitely those… unhealthy adult activities.
Excluding those, there were plenty of taverns in Bitterwinter City that could rival or even surpass it.
So why was this girl so set on the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley Inn?
Something fishy!
“That’s strange. Aside from those things, there’s nothing special about that tavern. Why risk going there, miss?”
Probably not seeing Hua Jian as a threat, Qian Feixu didn’t bother hiding her goal.
She wasn’t going to that tavern for anything else—it was because of a bad woman who might be staying there!
“Hmph, you wouldn’t understand. I have a special source of information. Someone I’m very interested in is staying there.” Qian Feixu’s eyes sparkled as she clenched her fists against her chest, looking eager.
Hua Jian couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She didn’t need to hear any more.
Anyone else might be confused, but she got it immediately. This Miss Feixu’s target was clearly her.
No one else from Ten Thousand Flowers Valley had stayed in Bitterwinter City—they’d rushed off to the secret realm’s area yesterday.
The only new guest at the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley Inn in Bitterwinter City right now was Hua Jian.
Who else could have caught Qian Feixu’s interest?
It wasn’t vanity—Hua Jian simply couldn’t see any other possibility.
“Someone who piques your interest, miss—they must be extraordinary.”
“Hmph, only short-sighted people like you would think she’s extraordinary. Today, I’m going to tear off her veil and let everyone know she’s just a fraud chasing fame!”
Oh, so she wasn’t a fan—she was a super-hater trying to doxx her in person? Hua Jian’s smile grew even brighter. This was too interesting.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about, miss, but if she really has a reputation, she probably has some skill.”
“Maybe a little, but compared to Saintess Linglong of the Jade Pool, she’s a toad. So many people say she’s better than Saintess Linglong—I can’t accept that!”
Qian Feixu’s face reddened with anger. Clearly, she was furious.
Furious that her idol had been insulted.
“My sister is the best in the world! How dare you common wretches try to equate your sister with mine? I’ll dig up all your sister’s dirt and show everyone that my sister is number one!”
As the opposing sister in this scenario, Hua Jian felt a peculiar mix of emotions. So this girl was a die-hard fan of Linglong.
And the reason she wanted to find Hua Jian? She thought the Ten Thousand Flowers Valley’s publicity campaign was too dirty, tarnishing Linglong’s image. She wanted to set things right.
Hua Jian didn’t know what to say. This Miss Feixu had probably never even met Linglong—how could she worship her to this degree?
“Have you met Saintess Linglong?”
“Not in person, but I will someday!” Qian Feixu clenched her fist, her face resolute.
“You’ve never met her, yet you admire her that much?”
“I’ve seen her portrait. She’s like a fairy who descended into the mortal world, radiating a cool, otherworldly aura. Especially her eyes—they’re like the rarest jade…”
Taking a deep breath, Qian Feixu clasped her hands to her chest, looking dreamy.
“I want to stand before her and hear her call me ‘junior sister’ in that cold, clear voice. When I think about it, I just…”
Seeing Qian Feixu twist like a worm, Hua Jian glanced back at Hua Xinrui and Shiqi, who looked even more strained.
‘You two don’t look at me like that, do you?’
Hua Xinrui and Xia Hui exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.
‘Miss Hua Jian, we’re not that creepy!’
After finishing her freak-out over Linglong, Qian Feixu switched gears and started attacking the bad woman who dared to compete with her.
“As for that woman—wearing shameless clothes, going barefoot—who’s she trying to seduce? Someone like that thinks she can be compared to Saintess Linglong? Pah!”
Fine, praise Linglong all you want, but don’t bad-mouth me, okay?
Unjustly caught in the crossfire, Hua Jian sighed and looked up. The Ten Thousand Flowers Valley Inn was only a few dozen steps away.
Standing at the main entrance was a white-haired woman who had been waiting for a while.
“Qian Feixu, you’ve got some guts!”