As the saying goes, lighting a fire against the wind only burns oneself.
Li Xuan hadn't expected that merely displaying his charm would already make Aymu want to take him home.
If Aymu were to set her mind on kidnapping him instead of buying him, and taking Li Xuan back to raise him, it would be troublesome.
Li Xuan immediately straightened his alluring body on the table, sat upright, and his eyes, which had been hazy and drawn, became exceptionally clear and serious.
"Your home?"
"Do you mean the Western Regions?"
Li Xuan couldn't help but confirm.
If it wasn't far, he wouldn't mind going for a trip.
But if it was the Western Regions, it wouldn't be realistic.
Going back and forth would probably take a lot of time, and Li Xuan didn't have that kind of time now.
Seeing Li Xuan's interest, Aymu immediately nodded excitedly, then said:
"Yes, yes, yes, it's not far from here. We'll go quickly and come back quickly; we can be back in one or two months!"
After Aymu finished speaking, she bit her red lip and looked at Li Xuan with anticipation.
Even though Li Xuan was now sitting upright, her eyes were still full of love, almost overflowing.
Li Xuan noticed Aymu's fervent gaze and immediately felt immense pressure, subtly lowering his head to avoid her eyes.
Even so, his forehead, which was being stared at, felt hot, almost catching fire.
After pondering for a moment, Li Xuan still politely declined Aymu's enthusiastic invitation.
"Uh, it's not very convenient for me these days. Let's talk about it if there's a chance in the future."
Li Xuan didn't speak too definitively, fearing he might provoke Aymu.
He was now feeling a pang of lingering fear, sensing that he had been playing with fire earlier.
"Although this person is a courtesan, she always feels strange, like a little girl in front of me."
Although Li Xuan couldn't discern the truth of Aymu's every word, he could sense her emotions when she spoke through intuition.
From her emotions, her attitude towards Li Xuan was genuine.
"Oh, by the way, how old is this person exactly?"
Li Xuan suddenly thought of a question.
Aymu looked full-figured and graceful, but she appeared to be around twenty.
On her, one could see both the youthful vibrancy of a maiden and the myriad charms of a mature woman.
Youthfulness and maturity were blended in the most appropriate proportion within her charm.
"Aymu, how old are you this year?"
Li Xuan asked directly.
"Ah~"
"Is Li Xuan interested in this humble one now?"
"And this is the first time Li Xuan has called my name so intimately, isn't it?"
Aymu cupped her flushed cheeks, her voice like a mournful song, making one stiffen upon hearing it.
Fang Muyang subtly adjusted his trousers, sighed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Li Xuan was stunned, and finally lowered his proud head.
"Alright, you're still the flirtier one. This cat admits defeat."
Li Xuan collected his thoughts, then looked up at Aymu again, awaiting her answer.
"But a girl's age is a secret~"
"Even for Li Xuan, Aymu doesn't want to tell."
Aymu said playfully.
Li Xuan's heart stirred, noticing that Aymu's emotions were not as agitated as before, much calmer.
"Oh?"
"Just asking her age made her wary?"
"Could she be some old hag?"
Li Xuan gulped, swallowing his saliva.
After asking for a long time, Aymu didn't answer any important questions, yet she was very enthusiastic towards Li Xuan.
This made Li Xuan a bit indecisive.
"Forget it, let's just treat it as business."
"If there's cooperation, we do it; if not, we part ways."
Li Xuan no longer continued to probe Aymu, and directly took out the title deed and land deed for Hu Yu House, placing them on the table.
"Do you want these two things?"
Aymu lowered her head and saw the two deeds, her pupils immediately constricting.
Li Xuan understood that Aymu cared about these things.
But then, Li Xuan couldn't quite understand Aymu's reaction.
Aymu's gaze quickly moved from the title deed and land deed on the table, looking at Li Xuan, her eyes full of incomprehensible fervor.
This gaze made Li Xuan feel as if Aymu wished she could run away with Li Xuan right now.
"Ah?"
That night, Aymu's gaze had brought unbearable pressure to Li Xuan again and again.
Li Xuan suddenly felt that Aymu's affection might be more than just a simple fondness for cats.
"Such fervent eyes are not something an ordinary cat slave would have."
Li Xuan grew wary, planning to escape immediately if the situation felt wrong.
Aymu also seemed to realize her impropriety; she immediately closed her eyes, placing one hand on her rapidly rising and falling chest, calming the surging waves.
After a good while, Aymu calmed down again, then opened her beautiful eyes and asked sincerely:
"So, Li Xuan."
"What do you wish Aymu to offer?"
Aymu's suddenly solemn tone and expression made Li Xuan uncomfortable.
Looking at Aymu's posture, it seemed as if she had made a vow of self-sacrifice.
But Li Xuan simply wanted to exchange for some benefits.
He was just a cat now, what would he do with a courtesan?
Have her dance for him every day?
Compared to such things, Li Xuan had more important needs to satisfy.
"Help me find heavenly treasures with balanced yin and yang attributes. As long as I'm satisfied, these two things can be given directly to you."
Li Xuan's progress was nearing a breakthrough; in about a month, he could successfully cultivate those two Qi Sensing Realm cultivation methods to the perfected realm, and then cultivate true qi with yin and yang attributes.
But the current situation was volatile, and Li Xuan was unwilling to wait patiently any longer.
He only needed to obtain another heavenly treasure similar to the Noon Twin Lotus, and perhaps he could immediately break through to the perfected realm.
The process of Qi Sensing Realm was too slow, so slow that Li Xuan had little patience left.
Li Xuan directly stated his conditions, then asked Aymu:
"How about it?"
"Can you do it?"
Aymu frowned slightly, muttering Li Xuan's request.
"Heavenly treasures with balanced yin and yang attributes..."
Li Xuan also understood that his request was not easy.
Heavenly treasures with a single yin or yang attribute were already extremely rare, let alone those with balanced yin and yang attributes.
Moreover, such heavenly treasures had mediocre effects on ordinary martial artists, completely disproportionate to their rarity.
Otherwise, over such a long period, Chief Steward Shang and Zhao Feng wouldn't have found only that one Noon Twin Lotus for Li Xuan.
Li Xuan had already tried the Imperial family's channels; there had been no news after the Noon Twin Lotus for a long time, which was why he wanted to try other avenues.
As the saying goes, snakes have their ways, and rats have theirs.
Although the Imperial family's power was strong, it couldn't encompass all channels.
The Noon Twin Lotus was a mutated heavenly treasure found locally through the Ping An Trading Company's channels.
Perhaps others might have such luck as well.
At that time, what was trash in others' hands could become a treasure in Li Xuan's hands.
Of course, 'trash' was just a metaphor.
While heavenly treasures with balanced yin and yang attributes had limited help for ordinary martial artists' cultivation, for common people, extending life was certainly not a problem.
But there were many such heavenly treasures, and their value was far less than when they were in Li Xuan's hands.
It was clear that Aymu found Li Xuan's request a bit difficult.
But the next moment, Aymu's expression turned serious, as if she had made some kind of decision.
"Li Xuan, please give me three days."
Aymu held up three fingers to Li Xuan and said with extreme seriousness:
"Three days from now is also when Hu Yu House will be auctioned. If, by that time, I haven't found what you requested, I will still offer enough gifts to gain your compassion."
"Please come here to find me on the night three days from now."
"At that time, Aymu will surely present you with a satisfactory answer."
As Aymu spoke, she stood up from her seat, then took a step back, knelt on one knee towards Li Xuan, placed one hand over her left chest where her heart was, and performed a solemn bow.
"This..."
"These people from the Western Regions are quite polite."
Li Xuan saw Aymu performing such a grand bow to him and silently marveled in his heart.
It seemed Aymu was determined to obtain the property deeds in Li Xuan's hands.
She said that if she couldn't find what Li Xuan requested, she would still produce items of sufficient value in exchange for the property deeds of Hu Yu House.
Although Aymu's words were more beautifully phrased, Li Xuan still extracted the key information.
"Alright, then I'll come back in three days."
Li Xuan nodded, wrote down this sentence, and then bid farewell to Fang Muyang before leaving.
Aymu daring to say this proved that she also had her own channels.
This indeed confirmed Li Xuan's guess about her identity.
Aymu was not a lone girl from the Western Regions venturing into the capital; she must have had support behind her.
It's just unknown what their true purpose was.
"The Western Regions, huh?"
"I wonder what their relationship with Great Xing is like?"
As he left Hu Yu House, Li Xuan mused casually.
But at this moment, he couldn't concern himself with anything else.
As long as someone could help him, they were his friend.
...
After sending off Li Xuan and Fang Muyang, Aymu took out paper and pen, pondered for a moment, and then began writing furiously.
Once she finished writing the letter, she reached out and tugged a red string hidden under the table.
A short while later, Aymu's door was pushed open, and a young pimp walked in.
The pimp had an ordinary appearance, with a habitual fawning smile on his face, and he walked in with a bent back, asking respectfully, "Miss Courtesan, do you have any instructions?"
Aymu looked at the pimp and suddenly called out a name.
"Wu Bin."
The pimp smiled, then turned around and closed the door tightly.
And when he turned back to face Aymu again, his expression was cold, his back straight, and his demeanor completely changed.
In a single turn, the pimp seemed like a different person.
"Here in Hu Yu House, I'm called Wu Lao'er."
"Don't call me by the wrong name again."
Wu Bin said coldly, showing no pleasant expression towards Aymu.
"Alright, alright, call yourself whatever you want."
Aymu shrugged, laughing carelessly.
"Wu Bin, help me send this letter out."
A vein immediately twitched on Wu Bin's forehead, but he knew Aymu's character and couldn't be bothered to waste more words.
But when he took the letter, Aymu pulled out another item.
"Oh, and send this along with the letter too."
In Aymu's hand was a purple-gold token shaped like a flame.
Seeing this token, Wu Bin was stunned and didn't immediately take it; instead, he asked in surprise:
"You're running away!?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't talk nonsense!" Aymu's eyes widened, and she immediately denied it, "My situation is excellent, why would I run?"
Wu Bin merely scoffed at Aymu's words: "That's right, you've messed up the Hu Yu House matter, so you have to prepare an escape route for yourself in advance."
Clearly, Wu Bin didn't believe Aymu's nonsense about her "excellent situation."
He had been a pimp in Hu Yu House for so long; how could he not know the current situation?
"Wu Lao'er, you'd better stick to being a pimp."
"Don't forget what your godfather sent you here to do."
"Hurry up and send the letter; don't delay my important business."
Aymu raised her head and commanded condescendingly.
Wu Bin merely snorted in response, took the letter and the token, and then respectfully bowed:
"Yes, Saintess Candidate."
Hearing this address, Aymu rolled her eyes at Wu Bin, full of disgust.
Wu Bin didn't linger in the room either; after putting away the items, he turned and opened the door to leave.
The moment he opened the door, his back bent again, and his face resumed its original fawning smile.
Seeing her door close again, Aymu said disdainfully:
"Hmph, just wait until later, when you'll see."
...
For the next three days, Li Xuan either cultivated or accompanied Princess Ankang.
During the day, the Three Little Ones explored the sights of the capital, and at night, they returned to rest well.
When they went out, Chief Steward Shang accompanied them, so there was no need to worry too much about safety.
The capital was much larger than Li Xuan had imagined, and it was very inconvenient to travel without a carriage.
Therefore, carriage businesses and sedan chair carriers were common throughout the capital's various markets.
But for the truly common people, their only means of transportation were their two legs.
These past few days, while Princess Ankang was touring the capital, she was also paying attention to the movements of the Money Gang everywhere.
After all, due to their profound first impression, Princess Ankang couldn't bring herself to like them.
Originally, Princess Ankang had wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to leave the palace and give them another good scolding, but she found that the Money Gang members were acting discreetly, and their public image even showed signs of reversal.
Princess Ankang occasionally inquired and even heard people praising the Money Gang.
This was completely different from what Xiao Cui had previously told them about the Money Gang.
Therefore, Princess Ankang could only assume that those who spoke well of the Money Gang were hired shills.
She couldn't believe that such a large, despicable underground gang could whitewash itself so quickly.
However, one fact had to be admitted: in the past two days, as Princess Ankang wandered around the city, she truly hadn't seen any Money Gang members extorting businesses or bullying people.
Instead, she had seen Money Gang members helping old grandmothers cross the street several times.
"A conspiracy, it must all be a conspiracy!"
Princess Ankang sat in the carriage, watching a group of Money Gang members helping people push carts by the roadside, and said indignantly.
Several fierce-looking, burly men, wearing the Money Gang's uniform, had kind smiles on their faces as they performed good deeds, leaving Li Xuan and Yu'er stunned.
If they hadn't seen the Money Gang's uniform in the West Market before, the Three Little Ones would have thought they had mistaken them.
"Are they putting on a show for Ankang?"
Li Xuan muttered in his heart, thinking that the Money Gang wouldn't go to such lengths for Princess Ankang.
Meanwhile, Chief Steward Shang, who was driving the carriage, silently twitched his lips, shook his head with a smile, and thought to himself:
"Their noses are always so sharp; no wonder this gang has survived until now."