If one were to ask which pleasure house in Maple Leaf City offered the most intoxicating delights, every seasoned connoisseur would give the same answer – the Threefold Fragrance Pavilion.

It was not merely a place of powdered faces with only three shades of beauty, but the Threefold Fragrance Pavilion, which possessed a full three-tenths of all the fragrance in the world.

Although it was only a branch establishment.

From the day of its completion, it swept through Maple Leaf City’s mediocre flower-and-willow market like a destructive force.

Nowadays, the young masters of Maple Leaf City could enjoy such amorous pleasures thanks to the Threefold Fragrance Pavilion’s elevation of the skills of all the beauties in the city.

It was akin to how the esteemed fifth-grade expert, Dong A, had improved the educational standards of Maple Leaf City’s Daoist academy. Of course, that was a sentiment Zhao Rucheng could only utter in private.

The leading courtesan of the Threefold Fragrance Pavilion was currently a woman named Miao Yu.

Countless men yearned for her boudoir, wishing they could prostrate themselves and crawl beneath her skirt. But those fortunate enough to taste her fragrance were, after all, few and far between.

Upon an ornate canopy bed, a middle-aged, naked man wore a look of feverish ecstasy, but beneath him was clearly just a bundled-up quilt.

Separated by only a beaded curtain, a soft couch stood opposite the canopy bed. Miao Yu, with her hand supporting her chin, leaned languidly against it, her curves exquisitely alluring. Her eyes were hazy, and it was unknown whether she even noticed the middle-aged man’s “self-entertainment”.

A man clad in black knelt before the soft couch, respectfully reporting something.

“So, this Jiang Wang understands a set of rather profound swordplay techniques, but has never displayed them in public before?”

Her voice was languid, like a cat just awakened from its slumber, teasing the heart in a subtle manner.

The black-clad man remained kneeling, never lifting his head. “Indeed. Your subordinate is incompetent and truly cannot discover where he learned it from.”

Miao Yu pondered, raising a finger slightly. “You may leave.”

Hearing this, the black-clad man pressed his forehead to the floor, gathering his ring and little fingers, and forming a triangle with his thumb, index, and middle fingers over his heart. He softly chanted, “From the depths of the River of Forgetfulness, the abyss of the Yellow Springs. May the revered god return to the world, illuminating mankind.”

Then, he simply melted into the floor.

“A swordplay technique that has never appeared in Maple Leaf City’s Daoist academy? Passed down from some great martial artist who tests swords across the land? Or perhaps…” Miao Yu’s gaze grew unfocused.

“A Dao Child…”

Her thoughts stretched further, more distant, more ethereal.

“From the depths of the River of Forgetfulness, the abyss of the Yellow Springs. May the revered god return to the world, illuminating mankind.”

She made the same hand gesture and chanted the same words softly.

Meanwhile, the naked man on the canopy bed continued to writhe with himself, seemingly able to sink into perpetual immersion in his beautiful fantasy.

……

……

At this moment, in a certain village of Yong Country, a fierce-looking bald man was devouring something with large bites, blood staining his mouth and hands.

He was eating with gusto when suddenly, a streak of light descended, directly colliding towards him.

Alas, this was not some justice descending from heaven, nor a flying sword to eliminate evil.

The bald man reached out and grabbed the streak of light, which transformed into a simple, ancient longsword in his hand.

“Damn it! Sooner or later, I’ll swallow your heart!” Annoyed at being interrupted, the bald man was visibly displeased.

“Old geezer, what age is it? Still using flying swords to deliver messages!” He cursed as he used his blood-stained hand to open the letter on the flying sword.

By now, the Mo Sect’s Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Box had been promoted for many years and sold extremely well. But some factions refused to use them, as no one could be sure that the mechanism-making people of the Mo Sect hadn’t left some hidden tricks in the transmission box.

Even if people of the Mo Sect swore an oath to the heavens – even the most stringent heart-devil oath had long had dozens of solutions researched for it. What use was swearing?

“Zhuang Country, Clear River Prefecture, Three Mountains City?” He read the words one by one, and couldn’t help but spit. “What a backwater!”

The longsword swayed in the air, as if urging him on.

The bald man grew increasingly agitated, but clearly the letter’s sender was someone he couldn’t resist at present.

He used his blood-stained finger to scribble five crooked strokes on the letter, creating a simple drawing of a horse, meaning: go immediately.

After casually securing the letter back to the sword, the sword then vanished just as quickly as it had arrived.

Only after the flying sword had disappeared into the distance did the bald man suddenly remember something, “Wouldn’t the boss not be able to understand it?”

He thought for a while, then pushed this minor worry aside.

“If he can’t even understand this, what kind of boss is he!”

……

……

As Jiang Wang walked to the entrance of his dormitory, he heard voices coming from inside.

After entering the inner sect, he still lived with Ling He and Du Yehu, convenient for exchanging pointers and pursuing the Dao together. Zhao Rucheng would come over and stay for a night every few days, but wouldn’t stay longer. Although the room was much better than before, for Zhao Rucheng… it didn’t make much of a difference.

Hearing Jiang Wang’s footsteps, Ling He quickly walked out. “You’re finally back! Your family has been waiting for you for half a day!”

Family…

Jiang Wang’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly entered the room. He saw a charming woman, still retaining her beauty, sitting at the huanghuali desk and chairs near the window – furniture that Zhao Rucheng had insisted on having people move in, no matter what.

Du Yehu sat beside her, restrained and obedient, answering her questions one by one. He was just like a wild child holding back his wild nature in front of his friend’s parents.

But this “child’s” beard was a little too thick, and his appearance too weathered. In comparison, he seemed even older than the well-maintained woman.

Seeing Jiang Wang enter, the woman eagerly stood up, her eyes filled with joy. “Xiao Wang, it’s been so long! You’ve grown taller and stronger!”

Jiang Wang nodded in greeting, “Greetings, Aunt Song.”

His birth mother had passed away long ago, and this woman was his father’s second wife. He couldn’t change his way of address and had always referred to her as Aunt.

This Aunt was not a bad person, and she had never mistreated him. However, Jiang Wang had entered the outer sect of the Daoist academy a few years after his father remarried. His cultivation was arduous, and except for the New Year and other festivals, he rarely returned home. They had never had conflicts, but they couldn’t be said to have a deep emotional connection.

While greeting him, Aunt Song pulled the little girl hiding behind her forward. “Hurry up and greet your brother!”

This was a timid little girl. Prompted by her mother, she opened her small mouth and said softly, “Brother.”

Aunt Song’s silk clothes were bright and colorful, adding to her beauty. The little girl was also dressed well, but her exquisite features were naturally eye-catching and admirable.

Unfortunately, after calling out only once, she immediately hid behind her mother again, only peeking out half of her head, sizing up her brother whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Of course, he loved his younger sister. Blood was thicker than water, something no one could change. It was just that he was focused on cultivation, and each time he returned home it was only a brief visit. He had not heard this “Brother” in a long time.

Though soft and small, this sound was like a pearl rolling onto a jade plate, indescribably clear and melodious.

Having experienced countless battles and often seen bloodshed and darkness, Jiang Wang felt his heart, which he believed had hardened, suddenly melt.

After returning from Tangshe Town, Jiang Wang revealed a rare, genuine smile. “An’an!”