Unexpectedly, there was no heavily made-up madam waiting to welcome guests, as Xu Ziyan had imagined. Only a pretty maidservant stood quietly beside the dock, holding a yellow oil-paper fan.
From the boat, they had not noticed anything unusual. Only when they drew closer did they realize that rain was falling on this little island in the middle of the lake.
Raindrops pattered against the oil-paper fan with a crisp, pleasant sound. On seeing the brothers, the maidservant smiled faintly. Her expression was composed, but it could not entirely hide the amazement in her eyes.
“Welcome to Liuyun Pavilion, young masters.” The pretty maidservant gave them a slight curtsey.
Xu Ziyan was surprised. The maidservant actually had first-level Qi Refining cultivation! He had not expected Liuyun Pavilion to employ cultivators as servants. First-level Qi Refining might be insignificant, and a cultivator at that stage could even be weaker than some mortal martial artists. But having cultivation and having none at all were the dividing line between cultivators and ordinary people. This was far beyond Xu Ziyan’s expectations.
“Since this is your first visit, may I ask whether the two young masters would prefer Star-Pointing Tower or Moon-Embracing Garden?” the maidservant asked with a bright smile.
“Oh? What’s the difference between them?” Xu Ziyan asked curiously.
He had already dismissed the servant who had guided them here. He had not expected Liuyun Pavilion to be divided into separate areas.
The maidservant hid a laugh behind her hand. “Star-Pointing Tower caters exclusively to cultivators, while Moon-Embracing Garden welcomes both cultivators and mortals.”
Xu Ziyan understood at once. So this place was a high-class entertainment establishment. Moon-Embracing Garden was open to the general public, while Star-Pointing Tower provided VIP service…
After five years of seclusion, Xu Ziyan had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. In a little place like Wuti City, that made him a formidable expert. But Xu Ziyan did not think himself superior to ordinary people, so he chose the more accessible Moon-Embracing Garden.
After paying an entrance fee of two spirit stones, the brothers followed the maidservant toward the garden, admiring the scenery along the way.
Moon-Embracing Garden lay at the back of the island and covered nearly half its area. There were no rooms inside. Instead, the designers had used trees to create small, discreet partitions around a central square.
A splendid stage stood at the center of the square, where graceful dancers were performing.
The maidservant led them to the square’s entrance. Xu Ziyan did not know what kind of formation had been installed there, but the sky over the entire square was clear and bright, a striking contrast to the misty rain around the dock.
“I hope you enjoy yourselves,” the maidservant said with another curtsey before departing. Almost immediately, a sharp-eyed young woman hurried over to welcome them.
“Well, aren’t you two unfamiliar faces? Is this your first visit to Liuyun Pavilion?” The woman was quite striking and greeted them warmly with smiling eyes.
“Yes, it’s our first time. Do you have anything to recommend?” Xu Ziyan asked with a cheerful smile, making no attempt to hide the fact.
The woman concealed a laugh behind her hand and was about to answer when she glanced at Xu Zirong standing behind Xu Ziyan. Her expression froze.
Was he joking? Couldn’t he see the breathtaking beauty standing right behind him?! And he wanted her to make recommendations? Forget Moon-Embracing Garden. Even Star-Pointing Tower did not have anyone whose looks could compare with that!
“Young Master, you must be joking. You already have…” The woman’s expression turned awkward. She looked Xu Zirong up and down and conveyed her meaning to Xu Ziyan with her eyes. Had he brought a beauty like that here just to put Liuyun Pavilion to shame?
Xu Ziyan glanced at Xu Zirong’s expressionless face and felt a headache coming on. He stepped forward to shield Xu Zirong and smiled at the woman. “This is my younger brother. I brought him here today to broaden his horizons.”
“Heh, heh…” The woman gave an awkward laugh and said no more. Instead, she guided them to a relatively secluded corner. Better not let a beauty like that make all her colleagues feel inadequate…
They sat for a short while before another young attendant brought a pot of wine and four plates of dried fruit. The woman had at least remembered they were genuine guests. Although she did not remain to entertain them herself, she left the attendant to look after them.
This servant boy looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, with delicate, handsome features and a quick, articulate tongue. What struck Xu Ziyan most was that despite being just a young teenager, a distinct hint of alluring charm already showed on the child’s face.
This charm was clearly not natural, but deliberately trained. Combined with his slender waist, long legs, and flexible posture, one could tell at a single glance that he had been fully prepared to entertain clients in the future.
Xu Ziyan set down the cup he had just lifted. Looking at the young attendant, he sighed inwardly.
“Big Brother?”
“It’s nothing. Something just came to mind,” Xu Ziyan said quietly.
Looking at Xu Zirong’s exquisitely beautiful face, Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but lapse into a brief daze. He recalled that the novel had mentioned a time after Xu Zirong fled the Xu family when he lived in dire straits. Back then, his demonic cultivation had not yet matured, leaving him weak, and this stunning face of his had brought him a world of trouble. There was even an occasion where he was sold into a brothel; had he not risked spitting up blood that day to break free from the restriction spell set by a cultivator, he might very well have shared the exact same fate as the boy before him.
A sudden ache gripped Xu Ziyan’s heart. He knew that, since his arrival, those things would never happen. But the fate of the Xu Zirong in that novel still hurt to think about.
When he first came to this world, he might have transferred his feelings for Xu Ziyu onto Xu Zirong, even treating him as a replacement. But after spending so many years together, he had long since accepted Zirong as family.
No one could remain indifferent to such things happening to a loved one. Even though those events had never taken place here, Xu Ziyan still felt sorrow for Zirong.
Xu Ziyan drew Zirong into his arms and gently patted his back. “Zirong, don’t worry. Big Brother will always protect you, no matter what. I’ll never let those terrible things happen…”
Xu Zirong obediently rested against him, but hidden from view, his eyes betrayed deep confusion.
He did not know why his brother had suddenly said that. Yet the last part of the promise had caught his attention.
He would never let those terrible things happen?
What things? What terrible things?
Xu Zirong was so agitated that he could hardly calm himself. Perhaps because he had been reborn, his brother’s words affected him with particular force.
He had always felt that his brother was hiding a great secret, but he could never lift the veil surrounding it. Just now, however, he had vaguely sensed that he might have touched the heart of that secret.
The possibility was almost impossible to believe, because he suspected his brother had been reborn too.
If his brother had also been reborn, who was he really? Did he know Xu Zirong had been reborn as well?
Thoughts erupted in Xu Zirong’s mind like a fountain, so many scattered ideas that it felt as though his head might burst.
No… that wasn’t right…
Xu Zirong forced himself to calm down. He could not draw such a conclusion from a single simple remark.
The Xu Zirong of his previous life had never had a single friend. Even if someone else had been reborn, there was no reason they would cherish him the way his brother did.
Calm down, Xu Zirong! You have to stay calm!
Xu Zirong repeated those words inwardly. But he was not forcing himself to calm down merely so he could think more clearly. It was also because…
“Hmm? Zirong? Are you… upset?” Xu Ziyan suddenly stopped stroking Xu Zirong’s back and asked in confusion.
“Hmm? No, not at all.” Xu Zirong concealed the panic in his eyes and looked up innocently. His watery eyes regarded Xu Ziyan with perfect calm.
“Oh… how strange. I suddenly felt as though you were terribly alarmed. I must have imagined it.” Xu Ziyan scratched his head.
Xu Zirong kept his innocent expression, though his arms tightened involuntarily around Xu Ziyan’s waist.
The blood pact enabled the two people bound by it to sense each other’s emotions to a certain degree. The more intense the emotion, the easier it was to detect. As time passed and the pact deepened, they might even come to understand each other’s thoughts from a thousand li away.
Xu Zirong had deliberately blocked Xu Ziyan’s side of this ability to preserve the blood pact’s secrecy. But his feelings had been unusually intense, and they had been standing so close that Xu Ziyan could still sense them clearly.
Now that Xu Zirong had calmed himself completely, the barrier was enough to conceal the matter again.
The Xu brothers were absorbed in their affectionate exchange, completely overlooking the young attendant waiting nearby.
The attendant watched Xu Ziyan lavish attention upon Xu Zirong and felt a deep pang of envy. He knew that he could never compete with such beauty; even the proud favorites of Star-Pointing Tower would fall short.
He had already assumed that Xu Zirong was a beautiful young man being kept by Xu Ziyan. They might call each other brothers, but their faces did not resemble each other at all.
The boy knew that people like them could only make money while they were still young, earning whatever they could while it lasted. Yet the person before his eyes not only possessed drop-dead gorgeous looks, but even had a lover who remained devoted to him through thick and thin.
Yes, the attendant was convinced that Xu Ziyan was Xu Zirong’s beloved. In his eyes, no one but a lover would cherish another person so unconditionally.
(Xu Ziyan: Σ( ° △ °|||) What?! That’s brotherly affection! Brotherly affection!!)
The attendant was unbearably jealous. Heaven had already given Xu Zirong such extraordinary looks. Why should he also have such a wonderful lover?!
He too had once dreamed that a handsome, dashing gentleman would come and take him away from this place. But a dream was only a dream. Countless women in Liuyun Pavilion shared similar fantasies.
At best, those women managed to save enough money to purchase their freedom. If they were lucky, they might then find husbands; if they were unlucky, life could become even more miserable.
Biting his lower lip, the young attendant felt bitterly heartsick. He watched the brothers together for another moment, then quietly left the corner.