Chapter 515: Banquet within a Banquet

"I wasn't serious, but I like it," Yin Xu said, covering her mouth with a coy smile as she looked at Shi Chun.

Wu Jinliang chuckled along, unsure if the woman was joking or truly interested in Shi Chun, especially since they had just been embracing.

"Alright, I won't disturb your rest. I'll come invite you to a banquet tonight," Yin Xu said, bowing politely. As she left, she even threw a flirtatious wink at Shi Chun.

The door opened and closed. Wu Jinliang rushed to the doorway to check, and after confirming she was indeed gone, he quickly returned to Shi Chun. "Chun, what was that woman trying to do?" he asked.

Shi Chun also looked puzzled. He had simply gone along when she threw herself into his arms, seeing no issue with quickly building rapport in such a cost-free way. To his surprise, even after he started whispering sweet nothings, she suddenly pushed him away, claiming it was all a joke.

Can someone really joke like that right after meeting? He was completely baffled and couldn't make sense of it.

Seeing Shi Chun's confused expression, Wu Jinliang suddenly chuckled mischievously in a low voice. "Tell me, how did that vixen feel? I've never actually touched a demoness."

Shi Chun rolled his eyes, too lazy to respond. He sat back in his chair, still trying to figure out the proprietress's intentions. Regardless of her background, it made no sense for her to throw herself into someone's arms upon a first meeting.

The only explanation he could come up with was that it might simply be her habit to behave that way with any man she grew close to.

Of course, that remained to be seen.

Jokes aside, once Wu Jinliang sat down next to him, he whispered, "It's fine to play along for appearance's sake, but it's not right for you to be so hands-on, hugging and touching. You need to hold back from now on. You know this woman's background; if the domain lord truly finds out you're involved with his woman, we could be in serious trouble. Look at me, I'm also quite lustful, but I never take risks for women."

This guy was actually lecturing him about women. Shi Chun stared at him as if seeing a ghost, then asked, "Last time Duan Xiangmei got slapped, who was it that wouldn't let it go, threw caution to the wind, and almost made things irreparable?"

"Oh, that's different. I was talking about women on the outside," Wu Jinliang stammered shyly in defense, his usually thick skin displaying a rare moment of embarrassment.

Shi Chun wasn't in the mood to bicker. He continued to use his right eye's ability to observe the Extreme Fire Sect group.

He had assumed the Extreme Fire Sect had already followed them to the vicinity, but he had underestimated Vermilion Jade Pavilion's ability to protect its customers' privacy. Within the massive structure of the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, it was truly difficult to locate Shi Chun's room quickly.

The second manager, Tian Shen, was waiting by the water elevator. When he saw the solemn-faced Yin Xu return, he immediately led her inside.

After they took the water elevator directly to the rooftop, Tian Shen, who was accompanying her, couldn't help but quietly ask, "Sister Hong, how did it go?"

Yin Xu stopped before some orchids, gently touching a drooping leaf. After a long silence, she slowly said, "I've smelled the aura the Old Ancestor left in Qingqiu; there's no mistake. Wang Ping has the Old Ancestor's scent on him. It must have been deliberately placed there by the Old Ancestor, and it contains the Old Ancestor's magical essence."

Despite being mentally prepared, Tian Shen still gasped in surprise. "Who is he, to be worthy of the Old Ancestor planting a scent on him? But that's not right. The Old Ancestor is asleep in the divine tomb. If she were to emerge, Qingqiu would surely be shaken. He couldn't have possibly entered the divine tomb, could he?"

Yin Xu shook her head slightly. "It's unlikely he has the ability to enter the divine tomb, unless he possesses a method to break its restrictions. Otherwise, even masters capable of shattering space would be powerless, unless those supreme beings personally intervened. And if the Old Ancestor had left the divine tomb, Qingqiu couldn't possibly be unaware. So, I'm also very curious: how does he have the Old Ancestor's scent on him?"

Tian Shen pondered, muttering, "The Old Ancestor planted her magical essence on him. With the Old Ancestor's cultivation, doesn't that mean she could appear by his side whenever she wished?"

"I also can't figure out what's going on. Are those several groups of people watching him related to this?" Yin Xu mused, then abruptly turned to him. "We agreed to host them, so go prepare a dinner. I'll find another opportunity to probe them. Also, anyone who can attract the attention of multiple factions must not be an unknown. Find your contacts in the various continents and see if you can uncover the backgrounds of Wang Ping and Gao He."

"Understood," Tian Shen readily agreed.

In the evening, Yin Xu's invitation arrived as expected. Tian Shen personally came to escort Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang to the rooftop pavilion, where a meticulously dressed Yin Xu was already waiting.

With no outsiders present, and with fine wine, delicious food, a beautiful setting, and the charm of the night, the host and guests conversed happily.

Lou Xiu stood with his hands behind his back under the eaves outside the City Guard Inner Palace, watching the red glow in the sky slowly fade. His brows were furrowed in displeasure, dissatisfied with the competence of his subordinates. They couldn't even discover which room Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were staying in at the Vermilion Jade Pavilion. What kind of performance was that?

He was furious about it.

He really wanted to ask the lord if this was the full extent of the abilities of the personnel provided on the list.

Because of this, he had no choice but to activate the City Guard's covert agent within the Vermilion Jade Pavilion.

A figure quickly ascended the stairs. Tu Bicheng, a subordinate whose name was on the list, arrived. After saluting him, he reported in a low voice, "We found them. They're in Room Ding on the fifty-fifth floor of the Vermilion Jade Pavilion. The proprietress, Yin Xu, is personally hosting a banquet for the two of them on the rooftop."

Lou Xiu paused slightly, then asked, "Yin Xu is personally hosting a banquet... How did they get involved with her?"

"That part is unclear," Tu Bicheng replied.

Lou Xiu thought for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "After experiencing the proprietress's hospitality last night, and as I'm new here, I suppose I should give that domain lord some face. It makes sense to go and butter them up a bit. Let's go to the Vermilion Jade Pavilion."

Inside the Vermilion Jade Pavilion, Qiu Ben, the head of the Extreme Fire Sect's Martial Hall, who was already staying there, was also furious. He felt he had brought a group of useless people; they couldn't even find out which room their targets were staying in. What was the point of trailing them then?

The entertainment and accommodation floors of the Vermilion Jade Pavilion were separate. The accommodation floors offered excellent privacy, making it difficult to enter without a room card for that specific floor. Furthermore, each floor had staff on duty who would observe, and non-guests, even if they managed to climb the stairs without someone to vouch for them, would be turned away.

Even if one were staying on a particular floor, the vigilant staff would promptly approach anyone loitering near room doors to ask if they needed anything. This was essentially to protect guest privacy and prevent those with ill intentions from snooping around.

The reason for the Vermilion Jade Pavilion's strict security was not hard to understand: they conducted illicit business discreetly.

Qiu Ben really wanted to cast a spell to search the entire building, which he could easily do with his Celestial Immortal cultivation. However, the Vermilion Jade Pavilion had clear check-in rules forbidding the use of magical power to randomly peek into others' rooms. If discovered, one would be immediately and unconditionally evicted, with no compensation.

Thus, their surveillance operation ran into trouble. If Shi Chun and his companion didn't emerge, they genuinely wouldn't be able to find them for a while.

They couldn't possibly send people to check into every single floor just to observe the situation, could they? Even with such a clumsy method, the nearly twenty people he had brought wouldn't be enough, as he also needed to deploy personnel around the building downstairs to prevent the targets from leaving through other exits.

On the rooftop, the host and guests enjoyed fine wine and delicious food, blissfully unaware of the difficulties faced by those with malicious intentions.

After a period of pleasant conversation, laughter, and dining, with the congenial atmosphere seemingly bridging some of the distance, Shi Chun formally began to inquire, "Sister Hong, I hear that Vermilion Jade Pavilion also discreetly offers high-priced escort services?"

They had heard the Vermilion Jade Pavilion staff refer to her as 'Sister Hong', so they followed suit.

Yin Xu smiled sweetly at the question, then seemingly teased, responding, "Since Brother Wang has asked, I won't hide anything from a discerning person. Your humble servant merely earns a bit of hard-earned money. So, do you two brothers need my help with something? Let me be frank: friendship is friendship, but rules are rules. When Vermilion Jade Pavilion escorts people, we need to understand the full circumstances of the matter before we consider quoting a price and accepting the job. We wouldn't do anything to shoot ourselves in the foot. Of course..."

As she spoke, she personally refilled both their cups. She handed one to Shi Chun, took the other herself, then linked arms with him, assuming the posture for a cross-cupped drink. With eyes as alluring as silk, she purred, "If our bond is deep enough, anything is possible."

With that, she emptied her cup first as a gesture of respect.

Shi Chun couldn't just stand by and watch, so he had no choice but to join her for a drink.

Wu Jinliang's teeth ached from watching the scene again. Unsure where he was lacking, he sullenly drank a cup of wine by himself, finding it tasteless, and turned his head to look at the night outside.

Just then, Tian Shen quickly approached, leaning in to whisper to Yin Xu, "Sister Hong, the new Inner Court Commissioner, Lou Xiu, has arrived. He says he wants to thank you for your generous hospitality last night and is personally inviting you to a return banquet."

Inviting someone to a banquet without prior notice, at this hour—what kind of reasoning was that? Yin Xu's delicate brows furrowed.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, however, exchanged a smile. They found Lou Xiu quite interesting. Given his newly appointed status, personally coming to invite her showed remarkable humility, giving Yin Xu ample respect. To refuse the invitation now would be a direct insult.

So Shi Chun chuckled, "He's a new official taking office, Sister Hong. It wouldn't look good if you didn't give him face. We're fine; you should go to the banquet."

Yin Xu hesitated for a moment, then finally looked at the two of them and revealed the truth: "Even if I go to the banquet, he'll likely suddenly 'hear' that I'm hosting guests, then feel incredibly apologetic and insist on personally apologizing to you. So, inviting me is merely an excuse; he's really coming for you two."

The two brothers were startled. Wu Jinliang then asked, "We don't know him at all. Why would he be coming for us?"

Yin Xu replied, "As soon as you checked in, someone from the City Guard started inquiring about your whereabouts. And it's not just the City Guard; there are two other groups of people, whom I don't recognize. Also, last night while you were dining here, an official from the Extreme Fire Sect named Xi Quan arrived. He seemed to recognize you and had already started watching you after going upstairs past your table. It seems quite a few people are interested in you."

The two brothers exchanged glances. They finally understood why the Extreme Fire Sect was watching them—they had been exposed last night. This was precisely what they had hoped to discover during this trip. But the question remained: why would this woman betray the Extreme Fire Sect to them?

Although Shi Chun was confident in his appearance, he couldn't help but re-evaluate his own attractiveness at that moment. Could it be that he simply matched the aesthetic preferences of demon cultivators?