Wu Long kissed Shen Min after some little pep talk about caution since she was a little impatient to get to the Yin Yang Unity Palace. Finally, he had to tell her that if she got really impatient she could just ditch the remaining lust cultivators and go to the sect at any time since he would be passing here on his way back anyway and can finish them off himself.
She nodded and donned her disguise, soon disappearing into the crowd looking like a plain woman, one that would not stand out in a good or bad way. He made sure that there were no presences or spiritual senses following her and also got on his way.
When he was outside of the capital, he traveled at normal speed for a short while before accelerating in the direction of Jurong Kingdom.
Wu Long arrived in a big city that was close to the capital of the kingdom and a lot further south. The weather was much warmer here and there were already no signs of snow as the budding green color started to show. It would take a normal traveler weeks to get here from his previous location but with his speed that only increased with his recent advancements in cultivation and improvement of his Spiritual Qi, he arrived in three days.
On the way he did not meet any ‘enforcers’ of the conspiracy masters as he just traveled too fast for them to track him down, and thus it was like he disappeared from their view. It was not like he avoided them, but he did not want to lower his pace just to deal with the pursuit, and he was cautious about people behind them as well since he could not deal with them yet, so deliberately hunting down their henchmen would not be a good idea.
It was different for lust cultivators since they were just a convenient tool. Although there was the ‘Master’ the ancestor of the Supreme Master Pavilion mentioned, that was more of a mystery than those who were driving the undercurrents from the shadows, since the person such a sect would call ‘Master’ had to be a lust cultivator who taught them in the first place. He was not sure who this person was but he was bound to have less influence than the conspiracy masters since there was no presence of his henchmen and no observers to look after the sect he was supposedly behind.
The only thing Wu Long was sure of was that they were not one entity as the schemers simply used lust cultivators to disrupt the Tingren Kingdom, just as they used bandits in the Fantian Kingdom. If the conspiracy masters, or even part of them were related to Lust Cultivation, it would have long since spread to the other kingdoms.
The public order was much worse in this kingdom but he also did not meet any bandits or rogue cultivators who might have any ideas about his possessions, since he rarely stopped except for sleep or a quick rest on the way.
He gathered information in the city as usual, but it was disrupted by almost everyone discussing the shocking news of the demise of the Supreme Master Pavilion and the subsequent extinguishing of the radical royal faction of the Tingren Kingdom which shook the whole continent. With the use of communication talismans information traveled a lot faster than people, so it was no wonder such big news spread like wildfire engulfing the whole continent and even beyond while Wu Long was in travel.
Although the usual routine of gathering information by spreading his senses did not yield many results this time, he still managed to overhear the other big piece of news that the Clear River Pavilion, the biggest sect in the territory of this kingdom had recently lost three of their twelve Grand Elders. There were many rumors discussing the causes but none of them could be trusted as they were mostly speculations made by the people who loved gossip.
Wu Long predicted that he was a little ahead of Wei Lan who departed a couple of weeks before him and should be arriving in her sect soon. He was unsure whether he wanted to meddle in her affairs any more than he already did for a few moments, but he just couldn’t watch such a beauty go to waste if he could help her a little, even if she was not his woman.
Even if he now sought more meaningful connections, there were still his instincts of the God of Pleasure that he indulged in for the better part of his long life. And letting a beauty go to waste was an absolute taboo even if he would not want to Dual Cultivate with her, let alone if he was somewhat attracted.
He went around the city to gather some more information from the rumors when he noticed something peculiar as he passed by a big building that looked like a brothel. His eyes flashed and he smiled as he truly found something unexpected.
It was a normal brothel, a bit bigger in size but that operated largely the same as other ones, but Wu Long’s interest did not lie in that, as he was not too fond of paying for such services. He entered the building under a big sign that read “Thousand Pleasures Mansion” and was greeted by polite women. These were normal attendants and not the main ‘workers’ of the brothel but the type of establishment they worked in meant that their clothes had longer and more revealing slits than common, and there was also a certain expression of polite seduction on their faces.
They were overjoyed to greet such a handsome customer and some of them were even a little regretful that they were only attendants and not the ‘entertainers’. He was led to a room that looked like a private booth in a restaurant where one of the attendants who drew a lucky straw inquired about what services he would wish to purchase.
“Who is your best ‘entertainer’?”
Wu Long smiled and the girl made a wry smile as this was a normal question in other brothels, but only outsiders would ask this in this establishment.
“Madam Liang is the manager as well as one of the best courtesans on the entire continent, but she does not accept all customers, only the ones she chooses can make an appointment with her”
The girl replied and Wu Long nodded as that was more or less what he expected.
He took out a scroll and a brush and scribbled something while the girl looked at him in slight confusion but did not interrupt, politely waiting for him to finish.
“Give this to her and tell her I want an appointment”
He said as he sealed the scroll with a talisman and gave it to her. This talisman was a little more common and sealed the scroll only to show that it was not read. It did not have additional layers of protection against reading the contents like what he used to send a scroll to Yu Huan. In other words, it could be opened and read but it would be known to the recipient that the message was read before them.
“And this is for your trouble”
He added as he generously tipped the girl and she delightedly left the room. After he waited for some time, several men looking like experienced fighters came along with a beautiful attendant. Wu Long smiled at her and she smiled in return with a polite smile.
“Madam Liang would like to meet you now. Will the esteemed customer follow me please?”
She bowed in a respectful manner but it was clear from the looks of the men who came with her that it was only courtesy, and this invitation was not something he could refuse. Wu Long only nodded and after getting up followed the attendant while the men positioned themselves around them from all directions. It looked from the outside like they were escorting an esteemed client but an experienced person would notice that their attention was pointed not outward but inside their circle, like when city guards were escorting a dangerous criminal.
He was led to a luxuriously decorated room at the top of the brothel, with high and narrow windows that oversaw a great scenery of the city. A gorgeous woman in a long but revealing black cheongsam with golden dragons embroidered on it was sitting on a lavishly decorated throne. She looked like her skin never saw even a ray of sunlight and her clothes as well as midnight black hair in a complicated hairstyle with golden coiling dragon hairpins in them created a stark contrast. She held a thin long golden smoking pipe that smelled of herbal aroma as her red lips and green eyes were smiling at Wu Long.
“Impressive”
She said in a beautiful voice as she threw a scroll where the words ‘I want to meet the head of the Thousand Eyes Information Bureau’ were written in Wu Long’s handwriting to the floor.
“I must say the same, such a great illusion art, my compliments”
“!?!? …What are you…”
“Menxi, it’s fine, it seems our guest has seen through our little play”
As the woman was trying to conceal her shock, the attendant that led Wu Long said in the same voice the woman spoke before, and the surroundings started to turn hazy until the woman sitting on the throne and the attendant switched appearances..