Chapter 51: Usually the Villain

Luo Xing and Hong An both looked over at the same time. The young man who had spoken wore a dark-patterned brocade robe that shimmered softly in the candlelight. His skin was a pampered, flawless white, and his slanted brows swept into his temples, giving him a bold, spirited look.  

Luo Xing instinctively glanced at Hong An.  

'Do you know him?'  

'No, do you?'  

'Then he's here for you?'  

'I thought he was here for you...'  

After a brief exchange of looks, both confirmed that neither of them recognized this suddenly appearing noble young master.  

"Who are you?" Hong An asked. Though he had drunk a fair amount, it was only ordinary mortal wine, not even spirit wine, so he was far from drunk. "If I'm not mistaken, we've never met before."  

"Haha, Immortal Master misunderstands." The man clasped his hands in a slight bow. "I am Zhao Chengyun. I meant no offense to the Immortal Master. I hope you'll forgive me."  

Surname Zhao?  

Hong An frowned. "Are you... a member of the Tianyan imperial family?"  

He wasn't from the Tianyan Kingdom and didn't know much about it, but he was aware that the Tianyan imperial family was surnamed Zhao. The surname Zhao, in the imperial capital, with such noble bearing—he couldn't think of anyone else.  

"That's correct." Zhao Chengyun acknowledged, then, as if he were a regular, walked over and sat down at their table. "I am the Third Prince of the Tianyan Kingdom. Hearing that an Immortal Master was visiting our capital as a guest, I came specially to pay my respects as a token of honor."  

Hong An nodded slightly. He could more or less guess why Zhao Chengyun had come—just to say hello and earn some goodwill.  

When they had entered the capital earlier, their flying boat had landed directly at the Cheng Mansion. So it wasn't just the Tianyan imperial family; everyone in the capital knew they had arrived. As for Zhao Chengyun finding them here... that wasn't strange. When a distinguished guest visits someone's home, they would naturally keep an eye on them, preferably knowing their needs at all times.  

However, Hong An didn't want to interact with Zhao Chengyun. For one thing, he and Luo Xing had sneaked out today, and it wasn't good for too many people to know. Besides, the Tianyan imperial family had ties with a cultivation sect that was not weaker than the Xuantian Sect. Hong An didn't dare take the risk that Zhao Chengyun might report today's events at Zhenyue Tower to that sect, which in turn might report it to the Xuantian Sect...  

As for Luo Xing, his thoughts were a bit more specific.  

Their purpose in coming to the Tianyan Kingdom for training was to help the Xuanfrost Pavilion investigate why the number of mortals with spiritual roots in Tianyan had been declining in recent years. One of the suspects was the Tianyan imperial family.  

And right at this critical moment, a prince from the imperial family came to strike up a conversation...  

Based on Luo Xing's years of experience reading novels and watching anime, there was a high chance this prince was a villain.  

But he couldn't rely on mere guesses. He decided to wait and see.  

"So, you've seen me. You can leave now, right?" Hong An said coldly, dismissing the Third Prince.  

"Oh, Immortal Master, don't be so hasty." Zhao Chengyun waved his hand with a smile. "I have a few close female friends who have long admired the path of cultivation. They wish to discuss it with the two Immortal Masters."  

He then winked at the subordinate standing beside him, who turned and walked out of the room.  

When the subordinate returned, six women in silk dresses with stunningly beautiful faces followed behind him.  

Luo Xing frowned, feeling even more suspicious of this Third Prince.  

They just met, haven't even exchanged more than a few words, and he's acting like they're old friends...  

And now he's sending beautiful women?  

What's his game?  

Testing who?  

Who wouldn't be tempted by this kind of...  

"Haha! Third Prince, you're too kind!"  

Luo Xing turned in surprise. Hong An, who had just been all serious, was now beaming. Ignoring the resentful looks from the two beauties beside him, he called out to the six women, "Come, come! Who wants to discuss the path of cultivation with me? Come sit by me!"  

Luo Xing: "..."  

What the hell, Senior Brother Hong? Where's your cold dismissal from just now?  

Forget how I kept my mouth shut earlier—since we came here for that kind of thing. But now you can't even walk straight when you see a few women?  

Did none of the senior and junior sisters in the sect catch your eye?  

Hong An seemed to say with his expression, Junior Brother, you don't understand. These women are certainly inferior to the sisters in the sect, but the feeling they bring... is completely different.  

Seeing that Hong An had accepted his "kindness," Zhao Chengyun smiled smugly.  

Cultivators might be nobler than mortals, but they were still human. Until they reached a certain level, they still had desires. In the past, when disciples from the sect the imperial family served came here, they usually indulged in some mortal pleasures.  

He knew it all too well.  

"Hm? What about this Immortal Master?" Seeing that Luo Xing hadn't chosen anyone, Zhao Chengyun turned to him. "You..."  

"Don't bother. Thanks, but no thanks." Luo Xing directly declined. "I'm just here accompanying my senior brother. I'm not interested."  

Though these women were far more beautiful than the courtesans from earlier, Luo Xing still couldn't stand the smell on them.  

Zhao Chengyun paused, then glanced at the timid young girl standing behind him...  

Oh...  

He understood.  

My mistake. I didn't prepare thoroughly enough.  

Under Zhao Chengyun's "kindness," Hong An quickly warmed up to him and they chatted like old friends.  

Zhao Chengyun also learned that they were disciples of the Xuantian Sect.  

But Luo Xing suspected he had already known—after all, the Cheng family was somewhat connected to the imperial family.  

"So you're from the Xuantian Sect. My respects." Zhao Chengyun raised his cup. "Come, I toast to you both."  

Hong An downed the wine from the cup held by the beauty in his arms, while Luo Xing silently picked up his teacup, using tea in place of wine.  

"This Immortal Master..."  

"I don't like alcohol."  

"I see." Zhao Chengyun nodded slightly. "In that case, I happen to have some fine tea in my collection. It might not compare to spirit tea, but if the Immortal Master doesn't mind, I can have it brought immediately."  

Luo Xing waved his hand and shook his head, indicating it wasn't necessary.  

Whether this person is the "villain" I suspect or not, I understand the principle that someone who is overly殷勤 is either a thief or a scoundrel.  

As long as I don't accept your "kindness," I won't fall into your trap!  

Zhao Chengyun seemed to sense that Luo Xing was impervious to his advances, so he simply smiled and nodded, then turned back to Hong An. "By the way, I wonder what important matter has brought the two Immortal Masters all the way here? If there's anything I can help with, I'll do my utmost."  

At this, Luo Xing's brow twitched. This is bad!  

But before he could send a mental message to Hong An, the latter had already blurted out the purpose of their trip.  

Luo Xing wanted to slap him across the face and ask what he was thinking. Had he forgotten that the imperial family was one of the suspects?  

His master had only taught him to be a gentleman, not to be a schemer!  

He had no wariness at all!  

"Oh? Is that so?" Zhao Chengyun said in surprise. "Then it really is worth looking into."  

"What? Didn't the imperial family know about this?" Luo Xing, seeing that the secret was already out, decided to drop all pretense and ask directly as part of an investigation.  

"The Immortal Master is joking." Zhao Chengyun shook his head with a wry smile. "With tens of millions of subjects in the Tianyan Kingdom, even if we had a thousand eyes, we couldn't keep watch all the time."  

Besides, they were all ordinary mortals. How could they tell if someone had spiritual roots or the aptitude for cultivation?  

"And what about the sect behind you?" Luo Xing pressed. "If the Xuanfrost Pavilion noticed something, they couldn't have missed it, could they?"  

"Ah... well..."  

Zhao Chengyun suddenly gave an awkward smile. "The Immortal Master might not know this..."  

The sect that the Tianyan Kingdom served—the "backer" of the Tianyan imperial family—was the Starsoul Sect of Nanling, which stood on equal footing with the Xuantian Sect.  

The Starsoul Sect protected the Tianyan Kingdom by stepping in whenever forces beyond mortals harmed it, or when evil cultivators or demonic sects caused trouble.  

In return, besides the Tianyan Kingdom paying a fixed amount of spirit stones each year, they also periodically organized selection tests for eligible citizens, allowing the Starsoul Sect to pick disciples with aptitude.  

The method was simple: gather people from various cities within Tianyan's borders and wait for the Starsoul Sect to come and test them.  

Luo Xing frowned. "Then didn't they notice that fewer and fewer people with spiritual roots were being found?"  

Zhao Chengyun smiled bitterly. "Tianyan is only one of the Starsoul Sect's vassal kingdoms, but the Starsoul Sect certainly has more vassals than just Tianyan."  

There were hundreds of empires in Nanling. A mid-level sect like the Starsoul Sect naturally wouldn't cast its net only in Tianyan. If the disciples gathered here were insufficient, other empires would make up the difference.  

The Xuanfrost Pavilion only recruited disciples within Tianyan, so they noticed the decline. But the Starsoul Sect had so many vassal states that they didn't care whether one empire yielded a few more or fewer disciples.  

Besides, the Tianyan side was completely unaware of the issue, so naturally, they hadn't informed the Starsoul Sect.