“Ah…” Chen Yuanyuan gasped, while Ah Ke’s expression also turned sour. “They commit such crimes…does no one punish them?”
“Many have tried to uphold justice,” Li Yuanzhi replied, and mother and daughter had barely sighed in relief when her next words sent their hearts racing again. “But these men have such incredible movement skills that they come and go without a trace. Even if discovered occasionally, they can escape with their supreme qinggong. That’s why they’ve roamed free for so many years.”
Ah Ke’s pretty face turned deathly pale, her voice trembling as she asked, “If security is tight, can those lechers still get in?”
“Of course they can!” Feeling their fear, Li Yuanzhi grew even more animated. “That’s why all lechers have such great movement skills.”
Watching Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke being completely taken in, Song Qingshu on the beam could only smile wryly. *This girl really has a knack for mischief. They probably won’t sleep well for a long time.*
Just as Ah Ke was feeling anxious, seeing Li Yuanzhi’s smiling face irritated her. She snorted: “You’re happy seeing us in this state, aren’t you?”
The smile froze on Li Yuanzhi’s face as she quickly defended herself: “Not at all!”
Ah Ke huffed: “I don’t know why, but I feel like you’re gloating. Earlier I said I should slap your mouth…it was delayed, but now that you’ve come to me, it’s perfect. Guards!”
Watching Li Yuanzhi’s stunned expression, Song Qingshu shook his head with a wry smile. *Women’s intuition is terrifying. Ah Ke has no idea what really happened, yet her instincts led her straight to the culprit.*
As he sighed to himself and reached for a silver mask, he couldn’t just stand by and watch Li Yuanzhi get bullied.
Just then, a skeletal hand appeared behind him like a ghost. Though the hand was so thin it seemed a strong wind might break it, the five fingers glowed with a sinister light…no one would doubt the cataclysmic power contained within.
Acting on instinct, Song Qingshu whirled around and threw a punch. Fist met claw with a muffled impact, shaking the entire hall as dust rained down from the beams.
Using the recoil, Song Qingshu shot backward, putting several zhang between himself and his attacker.
None of the women below had expected this turn of events.
At the sudden appearance of the masked man and the mysterious figure in a black cloak on the beam, Ah Ke cried out, “Guards! Assassin…”
But her eyes widened in shock…an invisible wall of energy surrounded them. Her voice hit it, sending visible ripples through the air before fading into nothing.
Song Qingshu glanced at it, his expression growing serious. “What a formidable aura. No wonder you got so close without me noticing.”
A hoarse voice emerged from the black cloak: “A pity you dodged. In all the world, fewer than a handful could have evaded that blow. Who are you?” This mysterious figure was none other than Huang Shang, whom he’d encountered before.
Song Qingshu didn’t answer, instead smiling: “Senior, you are venerable and revered…a legend of the martial world. To ambush a junior would surely damage your reputation if word got out.”
“In the eyes of the martial world, I’ve been dead for ages. A dead man cares nothing for reputation,” the voice from the cloak replied flatly. “Besides, against a lecher like you, why follow martial etiquette? I let you slip away last time…let’s see where you can run today.” In an open space, Huang Shang wasn’t certain he could catch him. But with his target trapped in a room, unable to fully utilize his extraordinary qinggong, Huang Shang had every confidence in his words.
By now the women inside had finally reacted. Li Yuanzhi instantly recognized Song Qingshu, but seeing his mask, she knew he didn’t want to be exposed. She could only grit her teeth and wait for an opportunity.
“It was you that night?” Ah Ke and Chen Yuanyuan were both shocked and furious, staring at Song Qingshu with eyes that seemed to shoot flames. If looks could kill, he’d have been pierced by a thousand arrows.
Song Qingshu smiled wryly, but since there was no point denying it now, he said with a slight smile: “Indeed, it was I.”
Seeing his clear, limpid eyes, Ah Ke suddenly found his smile somewhat charming. All these days she’d been imagining what that man looked like…her mind filled with lecherous, disgusting faces…and now learning he was such a graceful, refined gentleman, she suddenly felt that night wasn’t quite so unbearable after all.
“Bah! What am I thinking?” Ah Ke’s pretty face flushed red, and combined with her peerless beauty, the effect was dazzling.
As mother and daughter shared the same heart, Chen Yuanyuan felt similarly, though having weathered too many storms, she quickly recovered. “Though you wear a mask, it’s clear you’re a handsome man. Why would you do such a despicable thing?”
If he was going to play the part, he might as well do it properly. Song Qingshu laughed heartily: “Because you two are so breathtakingly beautiful…there’s no way to have you both through proper means, so I had to resort to this.” His gaze swept over her body with burning intensity.
His gaze seemed almost tangible…Chen Yuanyuan shuddered, overwhelmed by shame and anger, unable to speak.
Huang Shang suddenly snorted: “So it was you who took advantage of them that night.”
“No…” Chen Yuanyuan instinctively wanted to explain that nothing actually happened, but then she thought of what had been in her mouth when she woke up…what difference did it make?
Huang Shang, however, quickly shook his head: “No, that’s not right… Consort Wu is still a maiden. And though the Honored Lady is no longer intact, it’s clear she hasn’t been intimate with a man for a very long time. How peculiar…”
As a Taoist grandmaster, Huang Shang was naturally sensitive to the principles of yin and yang. Having lived for untold years, his discernment was exceptionally keen…he could see at a glance the current state of Chen Yuanyuan and her daughter.
Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke, however, were so mortified their skin turned red all over, wishing the floor would open up and swallow them.
“I understand now,” Huang Shang raised his head to look at Song Qingshu. “Young, yet possessing such cultivation and such astonishing qinggong…yet unable to perform a man’s duties. You must be Dongfang Bubai of the Sun Moon Holy Cult.”
Though Huang Shang was old, he was still a man with a passionate youth. He knew no lecher could resist the allure of Chen Yuanyuan and her daughter, leaving only one explanation: this lecher wasn’t truly a man at all.