Chapter 179: A Lead at Piaoxiang Courtyard

“If you don’t say who it is, how would I know whether I’m interested?” Shang Qinghua still feigned calmness, but the urgency in his voice betrayed him.

Xi Yu did not bother to keep him in suspense and asked bluntly, “Do you know of a brothel called Piaoxiang Courtyard?”

Shang Qinghua nodded.

Piaoxiang Courtyard was an establishment under Flying Opera Group, it was a brothel that specifically catered to the martial world.

He had never gone there himself, though Xi Yu frequented it often.

Xi Yu took another unhurried sip of tea. “I saw an acquaintance there. Although I’ve never seen what he actually looks like, just from his voice and build, I knew it was him.”

At this point, Shang Qinghua could almost completely confirm that the person Xi Yu was referring to was Yue Mingxuan.

Upon learning that he was safe and knowing his whereabouts, the anxiety that had plagued Shang Qinghua earlier gradually settled down.

“What does your acquaintance have to do with me?”

Xi Yu rolled his eyes.

He was clearly anxious, yet still insisted on pretending not to care, he had been like this since childhood.

Xi Yu was truly sick of this overly mature façade of his.

“Well, I’m just telling you as a bit of gossip. He’s working there as a menial laborer now, but he offended the top courtesan of Qiuyue Hall. I doubt his days will be easy.”

Hearing this, a trace of worry flashed through Shang Qinghua’s eyes. “Piaoxiang Courtyard isn’t a good place either. He’s a Ger alone there. Whether by reason or by feeling, since you’ve met him, you should have taken him out.”

Xi Yu slowly took another sip of tea and said, “Shang Qinghua, I never said my acquaintance was a Ger.”

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Shang Qinghua’s face.

He had been too anxious and had fallen right into this brat’s trap.

Meanwhile, Xi Yu was already laughing triumphantly inside.

It was the first time in decades he had seen Shang Qinghua suffer a setback, so satisfying, utterly satisfying.

It felt as though decades’ worth of pent-up frustration had finally been vented.

Seeing Xi Yu’s smug, “villain-triumphant” expression, Shang Qinghua felt somewhat helpless. “Fine then. What exactly do you want to do?”

Xi Yu raised his eyebrows smugly and said, “Shang Qinghua, you’re the one asking me for help now, aren’t you? Is this really the attitude of someone begging for assistance? It’s a bit too poor, don’t you think?”

…

Faced with Xi Yu’s arrogance, Shang Qinghua was deeply helpless.

So many years had passed, yet this fellow’s rotten temper had not changed in the slightest. “I already know the location now. Even without asking you, I can still rescue him, can’t I?”

Xi Yu shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. As long as you can get past the mechanisms at the entrance, do whatever you like.”

If it weren’t for the fearsome, heaven-defying killing weapon at the entrance, he would have already taken Yue Mingxuan out himself.

Why else would he bother coming back here to seek reinforcements?

Hearing Xi Yu say this, Shang Qinghua raised his eyebrows. “Oh? You mean that even with your martial arts, you can’t bring him out?”

Xi Yu replied, “One man guarding the pass, ten thousand cannot break through.”

His words plunged Shang Qinghua into contemplation.

Xi Yu’s lightness skill was among the very best in the martial world.

If even he could not escape those mechanisms, then they were indeed worth taking seriously. “How about you play host and take me to Piaoxiang Courtyard once?”

Shang Qinghua’s words startled Xi Yu so badly that he nearly jumped.

Heavens!

If his master were to find out that he had taken Shang Qinghua to visit a brothel, he would definitely be poked to death with a single finger.

He waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no, no. I’m not going. Absolutely not.”

He was not done living yet. He still had plenty of silver to spend and plenty of courtesan queens waiting for him.

Seeing Xi Yu refuse, Shang Qinghua leisurely leaned against the soft couch. “I heard from Mo Yi that Master will be coming in a while. When the time comes, he will certainly test my martial arts. If he finds out that all the major acupoints on my body were shattered by you, especially that my original acupoint was nearly pierced through by your sword, what do you think Master will do?”

This was a blatant threat!

Xi Yu nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Why didn’t he mention that he himself had almost lost his life to Shang Qinghua’s sword strike?

Fine, he knew that even if he told Master, Master would still side with that brat. Still, being threatened like this was truly infuriating.

“With your current condition, going to Piaoxiang Courtyard, no one would believe it. You can barely even walk, can you?”

Shang Qinghua replied calmly, “You just need to take me there. I’ll handle the rest myself.”

Either way, it would come down to being slapped to death by Master sooner or later.

After thinking it over, Xi Yu chose the option with the lower probability of death, taking Shang Qinghua to Piaoxiang Courtyard.

If he didn’t take him, this bastard would definitely go complain.

If he did take him, Master might not necessarily find out.

“Let me make this clear first. Once we enter Piaoxiang Courtyard, if anything happens, I’m not responsible. With that face of yours, the moment you step inside, those women will definitely want to devour you alive.”

Shang Qinghua did not speak.

Such trivial matters had never been something he paid attention to.

Seeing how resolute he was, Xi Yu could only resign himself to fate and turn to go purchase the entry wooden tokens for Piaoxiang Courtyard.

Three hours later, once everything was prepared, the two boarded a carriage bound for Piaoxiang Courtyard.

Xi Yu sized up Shang Qinghua who was seated opposite him.

He had no idea how Shang Qinghua had managed it, but the man’s entire aura had undergone a complete transformation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep