Chapter 307: How a Demoness Is Made

Chapter 307: How a Femme Fatale Is Made

If it were only that, Zhao Changhe felt that Chichi's approach of seeking out the brothel's top courtesan for questioning was somewhat off.

Where was this... It was the City of Villains.

The top courtesan might not be a true courtesan; she could be some venomous female villain living incognito here. At the very least, the brothel's owner certainly was, and all these women were subordinates trained by some powerful figure. For instance, Qianqian clearly knew that she was "attempting to harm the gentleman next door" and "eavesdropping," yet she showed no reaction at all. To them, such matters were likely commonplace.

Did you expect these women to leak truly useful information? Or did you hope they would help you?

Were you trying to replicate your path of seeking out Ruyan in Yangzhou?

No, no. Chichi almost never spoke a truthful word in daily life; her actions must have another meaning. Most likely, from start to finish, she was pretending to be a naive newcomer gathering information from all sides.

It was highly probable that her target was this brothel itself, and she was merely misleading others into thinking she came for other intel.

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, he heard the courtesan asking from over there: "If Young Master Luo truly has a goal, you could actually tell us directly. If we can help, there's no harm in cooperating..."

Xia Chichi grinned and said, "Oh, no more pretending? After all these days of feigning delicate moans, isn't it a pity to give it up?"

The courtesan replied, "Mutual feelings, Young Master Luo. Haven't you been probing for days as well? Only using your hands, never going to bed—are you really afraid I'll drain you?"

Xia Chichi just laughed: "Wouldn't you be afraid?"

The courtesan added, "Actually, there's no need. Many outsiders new to this place don't understand it, and they often come to the brothel to ask us. Young Master, you've been overly cautious."

That sounded nice, but if your goal happened to clash with her backer's interests, you might die in this beauty's nest. Probing was only natural—it was a process of mutual testing.

Xia Chichi was playing that very role, and for that, she had spent several days acting until now, when she finally made the other party feel she was unrelated and ready to lay her cards on the table.

"Since that's the case, I'll speak plainly." Xia Chichi smiled slyly. "I am indeed here to hunt down a foe. But how can the lady guarantee that after I say the name, you won't sell me out?"

Aside from those seeking refuge in Kunlun, the majority were, of course, those seeking vengeance. However, the latter usually returned empty-handed—if they couldn't find their target, they might even die silently at the hands of unrelated parties. Now, such avengers rarely dared to come, but that didn't mean none existed. Occasionally, some stubborn ones still appeared, like this "Young Master Luo" now.

The courtesan laughed upon hearing this: "If you put it that way, young master, we're at an impasse... Might as well take a gamble. Let's put it this way: if the person you're looking for is a famous figure who entered long ago, I dare say I might not risk offending the Dragon King's temple. But if it's someone who came recently, it really has little to do with us. Even if there's some connection, it's shallow. As long as the price is right, it's negotiable."

"So Yang Qianyuan arrived less than a year ago—does that count as recent?"

"So you're indeed looking for Yang Qianyuan. We figured that someone as refined as you, young master, coming here in the past year or two, must be related to the Hongnong Yang clan..."

"If you all think that way, does Yang Qianyuan himself know?"

The courtesan laughed so hard she swayed: "This city is vast. How many streets can he know in a year? Even if he saw you face to face, how would he know if you're an outsider or a local? As long as we don't tip him off, he naturally won't know."

Xia Chichi chuckled: "So you do have his whereabouts?"

"I don't know. I'd have to ask our madam."

"Then go ask? Or better yet, have your madam come meet me. I might need to buy other information, and it's inconvenient to relay through you every time."

The door opened, and the courtesan went out to find the madam.

The room fell silent.

At this point, Zhao Changhe was eighty percent certain that Xia Chichi's target was this madam.

She had patiently played along for days, just to lower their guard, meet the boss behind the scenes, and strike her down. Only someone who knew Chichi as well as he did would think of this; no one else could guess her true intent.

As for looking for Yang Qianyuan, it might be a pure decoy, or perhaps there was some truth to it, to be dealt with incidentally.

Chichi was impressive, but at this moment, Zhao Changhe felt the courtesan was even more so.

Because aside from the sound of the door opening, he couldn't hear the courtesan's footsteps at all. Even now, a footstep approached from afar to the next room, presumably the madam's, but there was only one set of footsteps—still no sign of the courtesan's.

Such lightness of foot wasn't particularly remarkable by current standards; Chichi's might even be better. But this habit of moving silently had become second nature, and in a way, it was a flaw. A mere brothel courtesan, stronger than her boss!

He wondered if Chichi had noticed this layer. If not, would she fall?

Qianqian had changed several tunes, and seeing this gentleman still leaning against the wall drinking, she couldn't help but feel exasperated: "Sir, my hands are numb from playing. You've been listening for so long—what do you want to do? Just say something. It'd be easier to go over and ambush them directly."

Zhao Changhe snapped back to reality and said casually, "Then shall I blow on them for you? Or will you blow on me?"

Qianqian's eyes were seductive: "How would you like me to blow, sir..."

The next room had already entered, and Zhao Changhe pressed his hand on the hilt of his blade.

He heard a middle-aged woman's voice laughing: "Young master is looking for Yang Qianyuan?"

Xia Chichi smiled: "Indeed. Does the madam have any leads?"

"Naturally. What price is the young master willing to pay?"

Xia Chichi did exactly what Zhao Changhe had done earlier: she pulled out a gold ingot and casually stuffed it into the madam's cleavage: "Is this enough?"

This gesture was so common among patrons that the madam didn't find it odd at all. She let Xia Chichi push the ingot in with a smile.

But the ingot suddenly stopped in front of her. Xia Chichi laughed: "Where is Yang Qianyuan?"

The madam said with a grin: "The Yukun Gang in the eastern part of the city, under Tian Lingzi."

"Alright, thanks." Xia Chichi let go, and the ingot slid into her cleavage.

But the moment her hand was empty, a short blade somehow sprang from her sleeve and stabbed straight into the madam's chest!

She had gotten the information and closed the distance, like a harmless cub suddenly baring its fangs!

The madam was also a formidable expert. Despite the suddenness, she managed to dodge backward while kicking out at Xia Chichi's abdomen, trying to force her back.

At the same time, the courtesan's face changed, and she struck a palm at Xia Chichi's neck.

With that palm, the air filled with pink mist—a strange poisonous palm technique.

But no matter how swift their reactions, they couldn't evade Xia Chichi's lightning strike. The short blade plunged into the madam's heart without a hitch. Then, with fluid grace, she abandoned the blade, spun around, and easily avoided the madam's kick.

The spin created a current that scattered the pink mist from the courtesan's hand. She struck out with her left palm, meeting the courtesan's blow.

As if unable to fully withstand the force of the courtesan's palm, she used the momentum to leap out through the window: "Who would have thought the Poison Spider had such smooth skin? These days of groping were delightful. Thanks for the hospitality. Farewell."

This courtesan was none other than the Poison Spider just mentioned. Xia Chichi had known it all along!

Zhao Changhe let out a silent laugh, finally releasing the tension in his heart.

She had actually assassinated her target right under the nose of the fifty-eighth on the Human Ranking, and the entire process had been a ruse to achieve this result with that very ranking expert.

It had been a while, and Xia Chichi had already mastered the arts of a femme fatale who could wreak havoc on the world. In many stories, such a woman would be a long-term nemesis for the protagonist, with love-hate dynamics to follow.

Zhao Changhe didn't know what kind of fate he had, but it was the opposite of others—this was his first love.

The window shattered, and the white-robed young man gracefully emerged, so dashing that countless watching courtesans had stars in their eyes. Even Qianqian's mouth fell open: "So handsome..."

Suddenly remembering the guest who had that preference, she turned to look, but the yellow-faced man who had been sitting there with legs wide apart was gone. Where was he?

Over there, the Poison Spider chased out through the window with a cold face, furiously swinging her sword: "Who exactly are you? What grudge do we have?"

"Clang!" The Ice Soul blade unsheathed. Xia Chichi turned and parried, using the force to leap again, straight over the courtyard wall: "We have no grudge with Lady Poison Spider, but that madam is another matter. The Four Symbols Sect executes traitors—none of your concern. Stand in my way, and die!"

Behind her, shadows flickered as the brothel guards blocked the wall.

Just as the words "Stand in my way, and die" fell, the Ice Soul blade swept out, bringing a thousand miles of frost.

Countless sword beams mingled with falling snow, scattering across the wall. The gentle snowflakes suddenly turned into fierce killing intent. As they brushed past throats, blood splattered.

The Poison Spider's sword relentlessly pursued from behind. Xia Chichi stepped onto the wall, turned, and exchanged seven or eight blows in rapid succession, feeling a bit troubled.

She was weaker than this Poison Spider, but her lightness skill was not inferior. If she had space, she was confident she could escape.

The problem was that this was someone else's turf; space wasn't hers to command. She needed to think of a way to find a weak point...

Just as she thought this, something caught the corner of her eye.

A faint smile curled at the corners of Xia Chichi's lips; suddenly she turned and leaped over the wall into a narrow alley in the opposite direction.

Poison Spider's heart thrilled with secret glee—running that way? That alley was packed with her own people; a moment's delay from them, and she'd never escape her grasp.

But when she gave chase, Xia Chichi never paused—a touch on the eaves, a pivot on a treetop, and in an instant she vanished like a wild goose into the vast sky.

Poison Spider: "?"

Looking down, she saw the alley where her blockers should have been lying sprawled in heaps, cleared away at some unknown time, not even a single obstacle left.

Her subordinates caught up: "Madam..."

Yet each was secretly stunned—Poison Spider was famed for her toxins; though her raw skill wasn't the strongest nor her lightness arts the finest, in real combat she was utterly vile and tenacious. Many believed she deserved a rank higher than fifty-eighth on the Human List.

And now this slap in the face—before a young dandy, an assassination attempt, a graceful escape; she couldn't catch him in a fight, couldn't outrun him in a chase, and her poison arts had no chance to shine. Was her combat prowess truly useful?

Poison Spider's face darkened. She drew a deep breath and said coldly, "Does he really think that staying with me these past days with such caution would keep him from being poisoned? In truth, he's already taken a slow-acting toxin, and in this world, none but I can cure it. I'll wait—wait until he hides in some lonely corner, burning with lust, and claws that handsome face to shreds!"