The crystal-clear light of the heavens poured in through the window lattice.
Su Yi sat before the table, sipping tea as if everything were perfectly normal.
From time to time, he glanced at the bed, where a beautiful young woman currently lay fast asleep, her beautiful face still flushed slightly red.
When he thought back to last night’s absurdities, he couldn’t help but shake his head.
Strictly speaking, they got practically no rest at all. It would have been fair to describe last night as “frenzied.”
Even Su Yi would never have anticipated that the quiet, gentle Ye Yu would reveal such a fiery, relentless side to her between the sheets.
However, even Su Yi had to admit that after last night’s all-consuming pleasures, he felt thoroughly relaxed.
This, perhaps, was the benefit of dual cultivation.
A moment later, Su Yi rose, but just as he was about to leave…
“Big Brother Su Yi, where are you going?” A clear, soft voice rang out.
Su Yi turned and smiled at her. “I’m going to eat breakfast.”
“Wait for me.” Ye Yu scrambled out of bed. The quilt slid down her delicate shoulders, revealing snowy skin.
Su Yi looked a bit transfixed, but Ye Yu bashfully hid herself. “Turn around.”
Su Yi laughed dryly. It’s not like I didn’t see it all last night.
As the young woman got dressed, Su Yi listened to the rustling of her clothing. He couldn’t help but recall certain scenes.
There was no getting around it: Ye Yu’s figure was extraordinary.
Slender and well-proportioned, with ample rising mountains, smooth shoulders, and a squeezable waist. Her stomach was flat, with curves in just the right place.
And her delicate little feet were white as snow. Her instep was as smooth as satin, while the arches of her feet were slightly red, and her toes were like a string of pearls.
And her legs? They were slender and straight, as exquisite as silk, with startling elasticity.
During the previous night’s revelry, that clear voice of hers was charming and gentle. Su Yi took great pleasure in the sound, and he found it highly stimulating.
Before long, Ye Yu was fully dressed.
A tailored skirt layered like a rose highlighted her crystalline, snowy skin and outlined her graceful figure.
When she faced Su Yi, her domineering brazenness was gone. She instead seemed a bit bashful and ill at ease.
Su Yi laughed. “Let’s go.”
…..
Seven days later.
The first day of the ninth lunar month.
The eastern border of the Hundred Rivers Territory.
A mountainously vast Cloud Tower Treasure Ship bore through the layers of clouds on its way to the shore of the Sea of Bitterness.
It was due to moor at the coastal City of Safe Returns.
The city’s name was an expression of hope that all cultivators who ventured into the Sea of Bitterness would return alive and well.
Su Yi’s tall, upright figure appeared amongst the crowd of disembarking passengers headed toward the City of Safe Returns.
It was already dusk.
The towering, ancient city walls were bathed in the blood-red light of the setting sun. From time to time, damp ocean winds blew over from the distant Sea of Bitterness.
Bustling human traffic flowed in and out of the city gates, and a cacophony of voices filled both heaven and earth. It was full of the smoke and fire of mundane life.
Su Yi walked amongst the crowd, hands behind his back, and passed through the city gates.
Seven days ago, he accompanied Ye Yu and You Xue. The three of them spent a full day enjoying Snowy Skies City.
When the time came for them to part ways, although Ye Yu was reluctant to leave, Su Yi could tell that she wasn’t overly upset. Instead, she eagerly asked him to come visit her in Ghost Serpent territory upon his return.
Su Yi naturally agreed.
Then, he set out on his own and boarded this treasure ship, taking a leisurely trip to the City of Safe Returns near the shore of the Sea of Bitterness.
The city was quite lively.
Throughout the ages, most cultivators who intended to explore the Sea of Bitterness stopped here first to look for information and gather supplies.
Those who returned from the far reaches of the Sea of Bitterness also chose to stop here and share what they’d seen and learned. Rumors about the Sea of Bitterness began and spread here.
Similarly, many of them chose to sell off whatever treasures they’d acquired in the Sea of Bitterness upon arriving back in the City of Safe Returns.
Thus, practically every major trading company of the Netherworld had a branch in the City of Safe Returns.
The city was also home to an abundance of information peddlers.
Simply put, the City of Safe Returns was a source of firsthand information about the Sea of Bitterness, as well as a place to purchase all sorts of treasures acquired there.
“Young lord, do you need the latest information about the Sea of Bitterness?”
Not long after Su Yi entered the city, a capable, vigorous-looking man greeted him with a smile.
“No need,” said Su Yi.
These professional informants were typically local big shots, but little of the information at their disposal was worthwhile.
They could only deceive the ill-informed and inexperienced.
“Then are you here to buy or sell treasures?” the man asked with a smile. “I won’t lie to you: so long as the treasure you’re after exists within the City of Safe Returns, I can help you locate it!”
“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Then do you know where to find the House of the Cicada?”
“The House of the Cicada?” the man asked in bewilderment. “What’s that?”
Su Yi smiled. “You can’t help me. You’d best find your next client elsewhere.”
With that, he continued into the distance.
“Are all young people so cocky nowadays?” the capable-looking man cursed inwardly.
However, he was an old hand at reading people, and his eyes were sharp. He’d long since realized that despite Su Yi’s youth, he was no ordinary person, and he dared not pester him.
Were Su Yi a fledgling leaving the nest for the first time, the information peddler would have relentlessly persisted in ripping him off.
“The City of Safe Returns is as prosperous as when I left it,” sighed Su Yi.
Along the way, he saw cultivators of all stripes, including quite a few with powerful auras.
Su Yi even caught fleeting traces of several Emperors’ auras, but they appeared only briefly before disappearing into the boundless crowd.
Before long, Su Yi arrived at a remote street and proceeded down it. He stopped at the old-fashioned ninth building, walked right up, and knocked six times: four heavy thuds and two light taps.
The tightly-shut door slowly opened, and a hunched, gray-haired elder emerged.
He looked Su Yi up and down, then said, “How can I help you, young lord?”
“I’m here for information,” said Su Yi.
The old man clasped his fist. “Cicadas sing in the summer.”
Su Yi said casually, “They know autumn has come when the leaves fall.”
The old man’s expression instantly mellowed, and he bowed slightly, then gestured for Su Yi to follow him. “Please, come in.”
“I’m not after ordinary information,” said Su Yi. “You’d best have your boss come see me himself.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed. “Young lord, do you have a referral?”
Su Yi smiled. “I don’t, but I do remember a certain sentence. It wouldn’t hurt to share it with your supervisor.”
The old man couldn’t help but feel a bit bewildered. “Please, young lord, speak directly. This old man will wash out his ears and listen carefully.”
“The handle of the Big Dipper points east as spring blossoms beneath the heavens,” said Su Yi.
The old man froze, and he was obviously a bit confused. “Please wait, young lord. I’ll be right back.”
“Go on,” said Su Yi. “Don’t waste any more time.”
The old man shut the door and scurried off.
Su Yi, meanwhile, took out a jug of wine and drank alone with great relish.
The House of the Cicada was a peak ancient faction famous for its information network.
At least, it was famous in certain circles: the old relics of the Netherworld’s various top orthodoxies.
However, even they typically had no idea just where the House of the Cicada’s base was located, nor did they know how vast their forces were.
Su Yi had learned quite a bit about them from Cui Longxiang.
Apparently, the House of the Cicada was originally an organization operating under the Infernal Palace. They were responsible for targeted investigations and information gathering, and they were under the leadership of one of the Ten Great Yama Kings, King Qin Guang.
It was only after the Infernal Palace fell that this ancient organization once subordinate to them renamed itself “the House of the Cicada”. They’d operated independently ever since.
However, the House of the Cicada typically only accepted Emperors as customers, and they had to agree not to divulge the House of the Cicada’s secrets.
Thus, few of the Netherworld’s cultivators knew of their existence.
When Su Yi explored the Sea of Bitterness in his past life, he came here for information, so he was naturally as familiar as could be with this secretive, mysterious faction.
Meanwhile, within the courtyard, in a pavilion surrounded by pine trees.
“All I want is information about the changes to the Sea of Bitterness. Why are you so nervous?”
A woman in a dress as black as ink sat there leisurely. Her long, narrow, bewitching eyes gazed at the man across her, an elder in gray.
Her legs were crossed, and her skin was as fair as snow. Her features were youthful and clear, and her eyes emanated a faint, unearthly charm.
She was utterly gorgeous, but the man in gray lowered his head and stared at his tea.
He sighed. “The Netherworld King has graced us with her presence. How could I not be nervous?”
The woman’s red lips rose into a mocking smile. “Your Bureau of Heavenly Shadows wasn’t one of the Bureaus of the Six Paths, but you were still one of King Qin Guang’s most capable subordinate factions. They said that there was nothing in the Netherworld you didn’t know about, so why have you… become this pathetic?”
The old man in gray still hung his head and sighed. “The ‘Bureau of Heavenly Shadows’ hasn’t existed in a long time. It’s only natural that the modern House of the Cicada would be unworthy of the Netherworld King’s attention.”
The woman sneered. “Relax: I’m not here for revenge. Tell me what you know about the changes to the Netherworld, and I’ll leave right away.”
The old man in gray didn’t quite seem to believe it. “Truly?”
The woman said flatly, “Time changes everything. The Infernal Palace has fallen; I’m above venting my wrath on your House of the Cicada.”
The old man in gray inwardly sighed in relief. “Just a moment, Your Excellency.”
But it was then that the sound of hurried footsteps rang out.
The gray-haired old man who’d welcomed Su Yi at the door appeared outside the pavilion and bowed in greeting. “Your Excellency, a distinguished guest is at our door. He says he wants to see you.”
The old man in gray frowned, but the woman across from him said leisurely, “You can just pretend I’m not here.”
The old man in gray took a deep breath, suppressed his agitation, and looked at the old man outside. “Does he have a referral?”
The graying elder said hurriedly, “He said that if I shared a certain sentence with you, you’d understand.”
The old man in gray couldn’t help but find this strange. “What sentence?”
“The handle of the Big Dipper points east as spring blossoms beneath the heavens.”
It was just one sentence, but the old man in gray stiffened.
And the woman seated across from him was sipping tea when she froze, a look of surprise on her beautiful face.
There are still people in this world who know that phrase?
Interesting!contemporary romance
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