Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi was unaware of the situation at Ye Feng’s home. Ye Feng had never mentioned it, and Li Guanqi had never asked. With an idea in mind, Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow at him.

Ye Feng frowned. “What is it?”

Li Guanqi said mysteriously, “Why don’t I take you to a special place for cultivation?”

Ye Feng’s eyes sparkled as he whispered, “Is there a special place in the sect that I’m unaware of? I was just wondering how you’re advancing so rapidly in your cultivation. I’m certain that Elder Li must have taken you to a special location.”

Li Guanqi gave a mysterious smile. “Tsk, Elder Li? I was the one who discovered this place. Cough cough. This place is called ‘Cultivating Amongst Mortal Distractions’!”

Ye Feng frowned and repeated, “Cultivating Amongst Mortal Distractions? Sounds impressive! Is it a good environment for focusing?”

“Just say if you’re in.”

“Of course I’m in! Why not? I want to see why you can cultivate so quickly!”

They decided to leave immediately and flew out of the Daxia Sword Sect on their swords. Before they left, Li Guanqi told Li Nanting that they would be off cultivating amongst mortal distractions. This left the Golden Core Realm Li Nanting puzzled.

“Cultivating amongst what now? What is he talking about?” Li Nanting muttered.They didn’t bother with a cloud boat and just took to the skies on their swords. The wind howled past them as they cut through the clouds, their laughter trailing behind as their worries melted away.

“High above the mortal realm, I observe the world below. I am an immortal!” Li Guanqi said happily.

Ye Feng muttered sourly, “That was very poetic. I didn’t know you were so cultured.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “My grandfather forced me to read a lot of books when I was younger. Anyway, let’s try to make it by sunset!”

After a few hours, they arrived above a large city.

Ye Feng looked at the brightly lit city beneath his feet with a strange look on his face. Puzzled, he asked, “Is this the place you were talking about?”

Li Guanqi laughed. “Why are you asking so many questions? Just follow me.”

Whoosh whoosh!

They landed just outside the city gates, slipping into the crowd like any other travelers. Once inside, Ye Feng furrowed his brow as he tried to guess what Li Guanqi was up to. They weaved through the streets, vibrant with life and noise, until Li Guanqi stopped before a building bathed in red light.

Ye Feng’s eyes locked on the large characters above the door. “Drunken Flower Brothel...”

He exploded, his voice drowning out the noise of the bustling streets. “Li! Guan! Qi! This is what you meant by ‘Cultivating Amongst Mortal Distractions’?! You brought me to a brothel to drink wine?!”

Li Guanqi casually picked his ear. Glancing around at the curious bystanders, he muttered, “What are you yelling for? Wait, don’t tell me... have you been here before?”

Ye Feng blushed, then gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Li Guanqi grabbed him by the shoulders and laughed. “We’d better fix that, then! Let’s go!”

They attracted the attention of many girls, who quickly approached them when they entered. With his golden hair and handsome features, Ye Feng was irresistible to the young women.

“Wow~ You’re so handsome, sir!”

“Yeah! Your skin... Your skin is even smoother than mine!”

“Sisters, you have to touch it. It’s so soft!”

Several girls clung to him, their perfumes overwhelming his senses. Li Guanqi watched as Ye Feng stiffened, blushing so hard his ears turned red. The girls practically carried him inside.

Qing He, the girl he’d met last time, came over with a smile. “Ah! It’s you again, sir.”

They entered the building and went upstairs to the spot Li Guanqi had occupied during his previous visit. This time, another beautiful girl was performing onstage with her flute.

Ye Feng sat stiffly, still surrounded by the group of girls. Eventually, Li Guanqi waved them off. “Alright, you all may go downstairs for now. My brother can’t breathe.”

Since a customer had asked them to leave, the girls did not dare disobey. They stroked Ye Feng’s cheek longingly, then left begrudgingly.

Once they were gone, Ye Feng heaved a huge sigh. “Cultivating Amongst Mortal Distractions! This place lives up to its name!”

Ye Feng picked up the cup of tea on the table and chugged it until he calmed down.

Li Guanqi turned to Qing He and smiled. “If Miss Xiang Yue is available, could she come play a tune for my brother here?”

Qing He smiled and nodded. “Please wait a moment. Sister Xiang Yue has been thinking a lot about you.”

Li Guanqi smiled, knowing not to take such words to heart. He knew she was likely thinking about his strength and status, not him.

Once Qing He left, a strange sound caught their attention.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A jet-black myna bird hopped onto the table, a sticky rice cake in its beak. It hurled the cake at some boiled eggs on the table, seemingly trying to crack one open to eat the yolk.

Ye Feng burst out laughing. “What an idiot! That’s soft—you can’t break an egg with that!”

The myna cocked its head and mimicked him, “That’s soft! That’s soft!”

Ye Feng laughed. “That’s right. This is soft. You need to use something hard.”

Li Guanqi smirked. “You know it can’t actually understand you, right?”

Moments later, Xiang Yue appeared, moving with elegant grace in a pink chiffon dress. The veil covering her face couldn’t hide her striking beauty, which left Ye Feng completely captivated.

Xiang Yue curtsied with a gentle fist salute and laughed. “We meet again, sir.”

Li Guanqi took out a tael of gold and pointed at Ye Feng. “Play a song for my brother here.”

Xiang Yue took a look at Ye Feng with a twinkle in her eye. Then, she placed her guqin[1] in front of Ye Feng.

Li Guanqi and Ye Feng froze. Ye Feng exclaimed, “I don’t know how to play!”

But Xiang Yue didn’t hand it to him. Instead, she slowly sat down on his lap. Ye Feng turned red from his ears to the base of his neck, his whole body frozen.

After the song ended, Li Guanqi opined that it was a great song, though he did not know what Ye Feng was thinking.

Xiang Yue rose gracefully, took the gold, bowed, and turned to leave.

The myna bird from before squawked again. “That’s soft! That’s soft!”

Xiang Yue paused, her cheeks pink. “It was hard.”

Then, she hurried off, leaving Ye Feng embarrassed and Li Guanqi bent over in laughter.

It took Ye Feng a long time to recover. When the color finally returned to his face, he muttered, “This place really does live up to its name...”

But then his expression changed. He pulled out an azure jade slip and read it, his face darkening. He stood abruptly. “I have to go home.”

Li Guanqi frowned. “Did something happen?”

Ye Feng gave a short nod. Without a word, Li Guanqi stood up too. “I’ve got nothing else to do. I’ll go with you.”

Ye Feng said nothing but didn’t refuse.

Then, they both departed Moon Gazing City, soaring through the air on their swords.

1. A seven-string traditional Chinese musical instrument