Li Xuan now held the property deeds for Hu Yu House, which was precisely what Aymu needed most at the moment.
Otherwise, after Hu Yu House was auctioned off and the government issued new property deeds, it would be much harder for her to acquire them.
"I just don't know if Aymu can offer anything valuable enough for an exchange."
Li Xuan didn't particularly care about the debt-ridden Hu Yu House.
Compared to the other assets Zhou Mama left behind, Hu Yu House was a complete burden.
If Ankang wanted to transfer Hu Yu House to her name, most likely those debts would come along with it.
With the Imperial family's power, they might be able to pull off a 'debt dies with the person' trick, pushing all the debts onto the deceased Zhou Mama.
But the subsequent troubles would certainly not be minor.
Anyone who lost hundreds of thousands of silver taels wouldn't sit still; who knew what those creditors might do.
Li Xuan's current idea was that if Aymu could pay a sufficient price, Li Xuan would be willing to transfer Hu Yu House to her.
He just didn't know if Aymu's determination to take over Hu Yu House was strong enough.
"Come with me; let's go see Aymu."
"I have something to discuss with her."
Seeing Li Xuan write these two sentences with the tip of his tail, Fang Muyang immediately frowned.
"I advise you not to get too close to that woman."
Hearing this, Li Xuan felt a little surprised.
"What? Did you and Aymu fall out?"
"Don't talk nonsense; I never had much of a relationship with her to begin with," Fang Muyang explained with a frown, seeming quite bothered by Li Xuan's remark.
Li Xuan tilted his head, quietly waiting for his explanation.
Fang Muyang thought for a moment, then said, "Aymu's background seems complicated. Her desire to take over Hu Yu House isn't as simple as a courtesan wanting to become a madam."
"This time, when Hu Yu House was forced into auction, she even asked me to help her plan to burn it down."
"Ah?" Li Xuan was immediately stunned.
"If you can't have it, destroy it?"
Li Xuan was speechless at Aymu's radical approach.
It was a good thing he had found the property deeds for Hu Yu House today, otherwise he wouldn't have known that his assets were so prone to disaster.
"In short, that woman is not simple. If you want to deal with her, you'd better think it through first," Fang Muyang continued to advise.
Li Xuan wasn't too worried about this.
Rather, he was afraid that Aymu's background was too simple.
If Aymu was just an ordinary courtesan from the Western Regions, the help she could provide Li Xuan at this stage would certainly be limited.
So Li Xuan was eager for Aymu's background to be more complex.
But now Li Xuan was even more curious about how Fang Muyang had responded to Aymu's proposal at the time.
"After all, it was something we agreed upon before: she helps me with revenge, and I help her acquire Hu Yu House's property."
"But I also set a condition: setting Hu Yu House on fire is acceptable, but no one can be harmed."
"Aymu agreed to my condition, and we arranged to act after the auction concluded."
Fang Muyang's answer left Li Xuan puzzled, unsure of Aymu's true intentions.
However, Li Xuan shook his head and didn't dwell on these questions. Such matters would be clear by asking directly, there was no need to speculate here.
Seeing Li Xuan nod his head towards him, Fang Muyang didn't waste words. He immediately put away his book and picked up a medicine box from the room.
"Gray Gray, I'm going out for a bit. You watch the house carefully."
Fang Muyang gave the instruction, and Gray Gray immediately responded with his characteristic hoarse voice.
Li Xuan and Fang Muyang left together, and Li Xuan unceremoniously climbed onto Fang Muyang's shoulder.
Fang Muyang had walked the dark alley in front of the door countless times; he was perfectly familiar with it.
Even in complete darkness, he didn't need to light a lamp, walking straight through.
Fang Muyang's house was not far from Hu Yu House, so it wouldn't take long to walk there.
Li Xuan looked left and right, noticing many people hidden in the dark corners on both sides of the alley.
Most of these people looked numb, just curled up on the ground; they seemed like beggars, yet not quite.
Some glanced at Fang Muyang, then quickly averted their gaze, continuing to stare blankly.
It seemed that Fang Muyang had his own ways of living in such a place for so long.
At least these people seemed to dare not bother Dr. Fang.
Li Xuan raised an eyebrow, finding it quite understandable.
It was hard to say what kind of things Fang Muyang had hidden in his medicine box.
After Li Xuan helped Fang Muyang get his revenge, he had given him a formula for phosphorus-sulfur fire, and also two phosphorus-sulfur thunder fire bombs that he made himself.
Li Xuan remembered these combat-usable items clearly, partly because he was so deeply impressed by the phosphorus-sulfur fire Fang Muyang had concocted earlier.
However, this item was too malicious, and Li Xuan never had the opportunity to use it during the Autumn Hunt competition.
Li Xuan guessed that the people in this alley were probably also aware of the terrifying nature of this "Dr. Fang."
The man and the cat quickly arrived at Hu Yu House. It was still the same as before, with a lively atmosphere. Upon entering, one could see exciting performances in the lobby on the first floor.
"How does it look like business is even better?"
Li Xuan was slightly surprised. Peering through the gap in the medicine box, he observed the scene inside Hu Yu House and unconsciously swallowed hard.
It was already autumn, yet the ladies of Hu Yu House were still dressed so revealingly; Li Xuan truly felt pity for them!
After Fang Muyang stated his intention to see Aymu, he waited on the first floor.
Before entering, Li Xuan requested to hide inside Fang Muyang's medicine box to conceal his whereabouts.
Although Fang Muyang guessed Li Xuan was simply doing it for fun, he didn't refuse.
At least Li Xuan hiding in the medicine box was much more discreet than him walking in on his shoulder.
"Originally, the Hou family wanted to take over this place, but after discovering Hu Yu House was heavily in debt, they decisively abandoned it."
"Aymu, as the courtesan queen of Hu Yu House, temporarily stepped forward to manage it, and with my help, she quickly gained the trust of everyone in Hu Yu House."
"Moreover, Aymu indeed has skills; after she took over, business improved significantly compared to before."
"But she is, after all, not officially recognized, and the amount of debt Hu Yu House carries is too large."
"Even though Aymu proposed good installment payment terms, those creditors still haven't agreed."
"As far as I know, some people are interested in Aymu and want to directly obtain her bond of indenture, and there's more than one person."
Fang Muyang lowered his head and explained the recent situation of Hu Yu House in detail to Li Xuan inside the medicine box.
"So that's how it is."
Li Xuan couldn't help but smile slightly upon hearing this, realizing there was such a dramatic twist.
Perhaps even Aymu herself hadn't expected that she would, in turn, become a key factor in stirring the creditors' greed.
A short while later, a pimp from Hu Yu House invited Fang Muyang upstairs.
The pimp escorted them all the way to the top floor of Hu Yu House, which was once Zhou Mama's room, then respectfully withdrew.
Fang Muyang knocked on the door, and Aymu's voice came from inside.
"Enter."
Fang Muyang didn't stand on ceremony and immediately pushed the door open.
The room's furnishings were largely the same as before, but Li Xuan keenly noticed the scent was different.
After Li Xuan and Fang Muyang entered, they found only Aymu in the room.
Aymu was standing behind a thin veil, rustling, seemingly changing her clothes.
It must be said, she was indeed a courtesan queen, allowing people into the room even while changing.
Fang Muyang obediently sat on the left, placing his medicine chest on the table.
Just then, Aymu's voice came from behind the veil.
"Fang Muyang, what do you want with me?"
Aymu said, emerging from behind the veil.
At this moment, her long black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and she was only wearing a white flame-patterned bustier and sheer long pants, through which the outline of her undergarments could be clearly seen.
She looked damp, clearly having just bathed and changed.
"I was dancing downstairs all night, so just tell me directly what you want."
Aymu said, yawning without any pretense.
Fang Muyang's gaze was as still as an ancient well; he simply opened his medicine chest silently and then said,
"It's not me looking for you, it's him."
Li Xuan immediately Drill out of the medicine chest, shook his head, and twitched his ears.
When Aymu saw Li Xuan emerge from the medicine chest, her eyes went wide, and it took her a while to recover, then she instantly rushed over to Li Xuan.
"You, you..."
"You're here!"
Aymu stammered, speaking excitedly.
"Heh, it seems I'm quite popular."
Li Xuan smiled triumphantly, seeing Aymu so excited.
"I heard your plan to acquire the Hu Yu House property has encountered obstacles?"
Li Xuan wagged his tail, and to accommodate Aymu, this girl from the Western Regions, he deliberately slowed down his writing speed.
Seeing the characters Li Xuan wrote, Aymu first widened her beautiful eyes in delight, then waved her hand, vehemently denying:
"Where did you hear that?"
"Nonsense, it's all nonsense!"
"Everything is going smoothly."
Aymu said, glaring at Fang Muyang through gritted teeth, which made Fang Muyang instantly stunned.
Li Xuan furrowed his tiny brows, looking at Aymu's exaggerated reaction, sensing something was amiss.
Last time, he had already noticed that Aymu's attitude towards him was somewhat unusual.
Li Xuan thought for a moment, then immediately uncreased his brows, understanding what was going on.
"Oh, could she be an ultimate cat slave?"
"If that's the case, then falling for this kitty's charm is also reasonable."
Li Xuan seemed to have grasped the key point, and immediately gave Aymu a coquettish glare, which instantly made Aymu's breathing quicken and her face flush.
"Hoo hoo, just as I thought."
Seeing that a simple glance from him almost made Aymu ascend to heaven on the spot further confirmed Li Xuan's guess.
"Perhaps, things will go even more smoothly than I imagined."
Li Xuan immediately realized there was an opportunity and changed his original approach.
"I heard Dr. Fang say that you, Aymu, are in trouble again, so I specifically came to see if there's anything I can help with."
After writing with his tail, Li Xuan also blinked coquettishly at Aymu.
Aymu's psychological defenses completely collapsed at this moment; she excitedly grabbed one of Li Xuan's paws and hurriedly said, "Lord Kitty, you are truly too kind!"
"Oh, what Lord Kitty, just call me Li Xuan, no need to be so formal."
As Li Xuan wrote with his tail, he seemingly inadvertently brushed Aymu's hand, causing the courtesan queen's body to instantly soften and tremble.
"Ah, Lord Li Xuan..."
Aymu covered her flushed cheeks, her eyes also becoming hazy.
Fang Muyang stood by, dumbfounded, watching the flirtatious pair of human and cat, utterly shocked.
"Which of you two is the courtesan queen anyway?"
He thought to himself, but dared not say it aloud.
After all, Fang Muyang couldn't afford to offend either Li Xuan or Aymu.
Under Li Xuan's series of manipulative attacks, Aymu slowly revealed her true feelings.
"Alas, Lord Li Xuan, you just don't know."
"I originally wanted to take over this Hu Yu House, but I never thought it would be so difficult."
Aymu rested her arms on the table, cupping her face, with a look of distress and grievance.
This girlish demeanor left Fang Muyang stunned.
He recalled the Hu Yu House courtesan queen who had constantly threatened him and spoken harshly to him during this period, and the corner of his eye couldn't help but twitch slightly.
"Did this guy take the wrong medicine today?"
If he didn't know that Aymu had a bad temper and was much stronger than him, Fang Muyang would have reached out long ago to take her pulse.
"Is this the difference between a human and a cat?"
Fang Muyang turned to look at Li Xuan, who was gracefully sprawled on the table, listening intently to Aymu's complaints.
"This cat also seems to have the potential to be a courtesan queen."
Fang Muyang had been a doctor on Flower Street for so many years and knew that a beautiful appearance was only the basic requirement for a courtesan queen; what was truly important was being skilled in human emotions.
On Flower Street, there had been a long-standing twelve-character secret to becoming a courtesan queen:
"Those skilled in emotions, ebb and flow, revealing and concealing."
This saying was a well-known secret among everyone on Flower Street, but only a handful of girls could achieve it.
Moreover, there were widely circulated misinterpretations among those seeking quick success, who could only grasp fragments of these twelve characters, but still revered them as guiding principles.
"Cough, cough..."
Fang Muyang realized he was overthinking and immediately refocused his attention on the conversation between Li Xuan and Aymu.
He thought, Li Xuan wouldn't have come to her for no reason.
"Aymu, why do you want to get Hu Yu House so badly? Is this place very important to you?"
Li Xuan said, getting to the main point.
Aymu, who had been pouring out her heart, suddenly stopped speaking, and after a long period of thought, she answered seriously:
"Lord Li Xuan, Hu Yu House is very important to me; I will do everything I can to take it over."
"If I can't, I'd rather destroy it!"
Aymu's words were consistent with what Fang Muyang had said.
She indeed had the idea of destroying Hu Yu House if she couldn't obtain it.
But even if the building was burned down, the land would still be there; only the value of the property deed would become zero.
Li Xuan wagged his tail and continued to ask, "You still haven't told me why Hu Yu House is so important to you."
Li Xuan blinked his eyes at the right moment, slightly revealing his soft belly, trying to charm Aymu into telling the truth.
But Aymu didn't fall for it this time; although she swallowed hard, she closed her eyes, turned her head, and said firmly,
"Lord Li Xuan, if you accompany me back home once, I will tell you everything. How does that sound?"
Li Xuan was instantly startled.
"Good heavens!"
"I was just being cute with you, and you're trying to kidnap me!"