4: I let you sleep, and you help me kill my sister!

"Why?" A cold, clear female voice came from a nearby room.

Lu Jiuyuan turned to look, and under the moonlight, he saw a woman in a long black dress, breathtakingly beautiful, with hair like a waterfall gently swaying in the night breeze.

"Killing Gongsun Lan stirred up a hornet's nest. There are always people looking for trouble with me. I have to be careful when eating, fearing I might be poisoned. I can't eat or sleep well, which is quite bothersome. After learning of your existence from Ouyang Qing, and knowing you are people who accomplish great things, I rushed here."

"Ouyang Qing?"

"The fourth sister of Red Shoes, the gentlest courtesan in Chunfeng Brothel, responsible for gathering intelligence."

"I can give you everything you desire here: wine, women, wealth, and Qi. The only thing I cannot give you is peace! Because we are vengeful spirits, what peace can there be for us?"

"I have always been solitary. These past years, I've devoted myself to rigorous training, without fine clothes, delicious food, or beautiful women. I only have a few taels of silver on me, completely lacking any impressive Qi. Since you have everything here, why not use this wine, women, wealth, and Qi to thoroughly test me? If I can endure it, my swordplay will undoubtedly reach a higher level. If I cannot, I'll gladly die amidst a mountain of gold and silver and a cluster of beauties." Lu Jiuyuan said with cupped fists:

"Shameless!"

"Despicable!"

"Pah!"

Liu Yuhang, Xiao Qiuyu, and Dugu Fang each said a word before returning to their rooms.

"To describe greed and lust in such a fresh and refined way, you truly are a talent," Shangguan Danfeng said.

"Daily pay is fifty taels of silver, and one thousand taels for each mission. Also, two jars of fifty-year-old aged wine each month. Money is a hero's courage; with money, you can find beauties yourself."

"Silver or gold?" Lu Jiuyuan asked.

"Silver! When you can confidently deal with the three of them combined, and they have no objections, then it will be changed to gold for you."

"Thank you, boss!" Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile.

One tael of silver is a thousand cash, roughly equivalent to a thousand yuan in his previous life. Fifty taels means a daily salary of fifty thousand. One thousand taels for a mission is roughly equivalent to a million. Top Jianghu experts can earn ten times that on top of their basic pay. These wealthy patrons are truly rich.

"Princess, he doesn't seem strong!"

"But he truly killed Gongsun Lan with one sword!" Shangguan Danfeng said lightly.

"I am not short of money. If he is a talent, he will naturally be used by me. If he is mediocre, he won't live long either. Spending money to buy a life is only right!"

Half a month of peaceful days passed in a flash. With everything provided, Lu Jiuyuan spent his days practicing his Internal Skill, eating, eating, and practicing his Internal Skill, with no other superfluous actions. Life was quite comfortable.

Ghost Shadow Maze was already proficient, and his old Mind-Cultivation Technique had been replaced by a new Internal Skill. In normal circumstances, his speed increased by more than thirty percent, a significant boost in strength.

"Xiao Jian, you have money now. Why don't you go and enjoy yourself? The beauties in the brothels are quite good," Dugu Fang said, squatting on the wall.

"Because I want to earn more money! Fifty taels of silver a day can no longer satisfy me; I want to earn fifty taels of gold a day!" Lu Jiuyuan opened his eyes and said seriously.

"With money, what kind of beauty can't you find? And they're all attentive! Without money, even if you get a beautiful woman, you can't keep her."

"I am an ambitious man!"

"Hahahaha! Xiao Jian, it's not that easy to get fifty taels of gold, and it's even harder to get the approval of the three of us," Dugu Fang laughed.

"With the martial arts you've shown, you're still far from Gongsun Lan. Now I really doubt how you killed her. Was it a sneak attack, an ambush, or something else? Why didn't she take any precautions against you?"

"Perhaps I'm handsome! Women often can't move when they see me, and because my martial arts are too weak, she wouldn't guard against me," Lu Jiuyuan replied.

"Or perhaps my seemingly honest and handsome face was exactly to her taste."

"Pah! Doesn't the horse know the length of its face?" A girl who looked twelve or thirteen years old said, sticking out her tongue.

This little girl was Shangguan Danfeng's cousin, Shangguan Xueer, a very pretty, mischievous, and deceitful little liar who loved to trick people. However, some people lie for self-preservation, while others lie just to harm others.

"Lu Xiaojian, don't be so narcissistic. In terms of dashing elegance, you can't compare to Four Eyebrows Lu Xiaofeng. In terms of noble appearance, you're inferior to the blind hero Hua Manlou," Shangguan Xueer said, putting her hands on her hips in comparison.

"In terms of martial arts, you can't even compare to those three guys. What is there to be proud of, hmph ╯ ^ ╰"

"Hahahaha, to see what level a person is at, just look at who his opponents are!" Lu Jiuyuan laughed heartily.

"Look at the people you're comparing me to! You'll know what level Lu Jiuyuan is in your heart! I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed! Hahahaha"

Dugu Fang shook his head and turned to leave. He boasted quite a lot, but his strength was weak, and he had an undeserved reputation. After observing for so long, he was confident he wasn't mistaken. He was just a little worm who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Did he really think this was a charity, that fifty taels of silver a day was so easy to get? If his strength was insufficient, he would have to pay with his life!

"He looks down on you!" Shangguan Xueer said, hands behind her back, after Dugu Fang left.

"I know! He is strong, his swordplay is extremely fast, and he has the right to look down on me!" Lu Jiuyuan nodded.

"But you also look down on him!" Shangguan Xueer looked at Lu Jiuyuan: "I just said that in terms of dashing elegance, you can't compare to Lu Xiaofeng, and in terms of noble appearance, you can't compare to Hua Manlou. But in terms of arrogance, you are more arrogant than any of them."

"Why? Why are you so arrogant? You say you're not an opponent for Dugu Fang and the other two, but I can clearly feel that you've never considered them opponents. Why?"

"You're talking nonsense again!" Lu Jiuyuan smiled: "I'm just an ordinary person, not strong, where would I get such arrogance?"

"I'll sleep with you if you help me kill Shangguan Danfeng, okay?" Shangguan Xueer suddenly said.

"Shangguan Danfeng is your cousin! You want me to kill her?" Lu Jiuyuan reached out and poked her little head: "Leaving aside that I don't have that kind of ability, even if I did, if I killed her, who would pay me? I still understand the difference between one full meal and continuous full meals."

Shangguan Xueer looked down at herself. Am I just one full meal? Is she continuous full meals? Damn Lu Xiaojian, there truly is no fear in your heart. In your eyes, Princess Jinpeng is not unkillable; you only care about the pay.

"Xiao Jian, time to work! The Princess wants to see someone today, we need to set the scene!" Xiao Qiuyu's voice came from afar.

"Coming!" Lu Jiuyuan immediately darted out.

Preparations were almost complete. Baskets of fresh flowers, just picked, were sprinkled with water to keep them fresh. Musicians had also rehearsed their tunes.

Xiao Qiuyu directed from the side: "The person we are meeting this time is Four Eyebrows Lu Xiaofeng. I, Liu Yuhang, and Dugu Fang will appear first to awe him, then the music will begin. As the music starts, Lu Jiuyuan, you will scatter the petals. Your technique must be good, scatter them evenly."

"The Princess will appear in a black gauze dress, stepping on the petals, at the most beautiful part of the music, when the ground is covered with flowers. Remember, the timing must be perfect, neither too early nor too late."

"This is a grand occasion for us. If handled well, it will be incredibly stunning, enough to amaze people for a lifetime. But if there's an accident, it will be a huge joke. Lives will have to be sacrificed; no one who sees the Princess's embarrassment can live. Do you all understand what I'm saying?"