Chapter 946: Specter Race
The one standing at the entrance was naturally Nan Xun. When she heard Zu An had come to look for her, she was so happy that she almost forgot to even put on shoes. Only now did she notice that he had brought two other guests with him.
Her first reaction was that he had brought over his friends to show off. After all, that was something that was much too commonly seen among men. She had been quite influenced by the kind of place she was in after all.
However, she immediately realized that something wasn’t quite right, because one of his friends’ chests seemed to be a bit too big… Upon closer inspection, she saw that that person’s waist was the tiniest of them all, and their skin was fine. What else could they be but a cross-dressing woman?
She was shocked. Why would Zu An bring two women to a place like Scarlet Invitation? However, before she had the time to even think more about it, she heard the other, more flat-chested person speak ill of her behind her back. She obviously wouldn’t just take it lying down and immediately fired back.
Sang Qien was shocked. She hadn’t expected to be found out by the person involved so quickly! She was about to say something, but she took notice of the other woman’s beauty. At first, she had thought that the courtesans of brothels would definitely use a ton of cosmetics and behave coquettishly, but this woman was entirely different. She seemed to be even more elegant than most upper-class women! She really found it hard to associate Nan Xun with a woman from this kind of place.
What dealt an even greater mental blow was, why were these girls’ chests all so big?! Just what the heck did they eat for them to get so massive?!
She was pretty good at talking normally, and she had quite a few things to say to Nan Xun. However, upon seeing her voluptuous figure, she immediately lost confidence and didn’t want to argue anymore. She harrumphed and looked away to show her displeasure.
Zheng Dan woke up with a start too. She looked at the woman in front of her. This woman really was stunning, and furthermore, there was a kind of aloof and indifferent expression in her eyes that made her seem completely free from the vulgarity of the world.
She’s almost comparable to Qiu Honglei. Zheng Dan subconsciously straightened her posture. She felt a bit of regret inwardly. Her mental state really was too poor, and she hadn’t even put on any makeup before leaving today. Of course she couldn’t compare to this woman at the moment… But she soon remembered that she was here as a man. She sighed in relief.
“Nan Xun, meeting with you really isn’t easy at all.” Zu An quickly changed the topic when he sensed that the atmosphere had become a bit too serious.
Nan Xun’s previously cold expression shifted to a smile when Zu An spoke. She replied, “It cannot be helped; there are so many guests who wish to meet me. If I had to meet every one of them, I really would be tired to death. However, young master, please do not worry. I already told those from Scarlet Invitation that if you come back in the future, you can just come right in. You don’t need to let anyone know.”
Sang Qien harrumphed. Is this woman flaunting her popularity right now? She had previously thought that her own sister-in-law was a bit too frivolous, but compared to this woman, her sister-in-law was as pure as a little white flower!
“Do you really need to meet with that many guests?” Zu An’s brow subconsciously furrowed.
“Is the young master jealous?” Nan Xun’s smile became bigger. She grabbed Zu An’s arm and said, “I am really happy to hear that, you know?”
“Hmph, just putting on airs,” Sang Qien rolled her eyes and murmured quietly.
Zheng Dan frowned. This woman is a formidable opponent! Hmph, if only Chu Chuyan were here…
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan normally had their differences and looked down on each other in certain ways. But today, they were actually united against a common enemy.
Nan Xun moved over to Zu An and said quietly by his ear, “Young master, do not worry. I only chat a bit with those other young masters. I have never even taken off my mask around them. I will make sure to preserve my chastity for you.” She intentionally blew against Zu An’s ear as she spoke, her voice full of a provocative air.
Zu An sighed. This woman really knew how to tease him! No wonder even someone like King Qi had been completely enchanted by her and couldn't completely free himself from her.
This woman had been a concubine of King Qi, but she was still a virgin? Did it even count as being a virgin anymore or not, if she had the body of a young woman but the mind of a mature woman?
He finally snapped out of his daze when he sensed the killing intent of the two women behind him and said, “By the way, I came because I had something I needed your help with. I have something to ask Miss Kong.”
“Why is there another woman?” Zheng Dan’s ears pricked up.
Sang Qien was confused too. And who is this Miss Kong? Is there even anyone famous surnamed Kong in the capital?
Even though there were many things about Zu An she found questionable, she still trusted his judgment in women for the most part. There was no way any random pretty girl could catch his eye. All those who could gain his praise were all ridiculously beautiful. If her surname was Kong, this woman should have been quite famous in the capital.
Nan Xun pouted and replied, “Young master really is heartless. You never came to see me after that night, and you only came to find me today to meet with another woman.”
“You’re even getting jealous of her? Don’t worry, I really have some proper business with her,” Zu An said with a smile.
Nan Xun knew that acting a bit spoiled would gain more favor at certain times, but it was easy for such things to go too far. As such, she sensibly stopped herself and said, “Okay, I’ll bring you to see her. She just mentioned you not too long ago.”
“What did she talk about?” Zu An was curious. Being talked about by a respected individual from the fiend races wasn’t anything to feel that happy about.
“About how heartless you are, of course!” Nan Xun harrumphed. Her beautiful figure swayed as she began to walk ahead of the group to lead the way. The way she walked made the inexperienced Sang Qien feel scorn and envy.
Meanwhile, Zheng Dan was also staring at Zu An with an ambiguous expression. Even though she knew that he was a womanizer, she had never expected him to be fickle to this extent. Judging from their tone, it sounded as if this Lady Kong was also one of his close female friends.
They quickly arrived in a courtyard out in the back. Nan Xun stopped in front of the entrance and said, “Young master, I have to ask for instructions first. You know that her status is a bit…” She gave Zheng Dan and Sang Qien a look. She didn’t say the following words. Zu An knew about her misgivings, so he didn’t make things too hard on her.
As Nan Xun went inside, Sang Qien couldn't help but ask, “Who is that Lady Kong? Why is she acting all mysterious?”
“Her status is indeed a bit special. We’re here to ask for help after all, so we should follow their rules.” Zu An didn’t tell them Kong Nanwu’s identity. After all, the words ‘fiend races’ were too sensitive, especially when the fiend races had just slaughtered an entire frontier city not too long ago.
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan exchanged a look. They both saw curiosity in each other’s eyes.
Nan Xun returned quickly. “Young master, she invites you inside, but I fear that it is not too appropriate for the other two.”
Sang Qien frowned. Where do these courtesans get their confidence from? She was just about to flip out when Zu An stopped her, saying, “Little Qien, wait here for a bit. I’ll bring your sister-in-law in to ask about her illness.”
Sang Qien wasn’t too happy at first, but when she heard that it had to do with her sister-in-law’s condition, she endured her discontent and replied, “Forget it, this place is pretty nice anyway, so I won’t go inside. Otherwise, I might just end up getting all of this foxy frivolousness on me.” She wanted to say ‘foul smell’, but she decided not to in the end.
Zu An thought to himself, You’re actually right, there really is a fox in there. Then, he brought Zheng Dan inside.
Nan Xun looked hesitant as she said, “Young master, she…”
“It’s fine,” Zu An said, “Have Miss Kong speak through a curtain. My consultation involves her, so I have to bring her in.” He had stayed the night before, so he knew the layout inside. After hearing that, Nan Xun didn’t press the issue further. She went in first to let Kong Nanwu know.
When Zu An and Zheng Dan went in, they could only vaguely make out an elegant figure behind the layers of curtains. They couldn't really make out her real appearance.
“Young master, please forgive me. We can only meet in this manner,” said a gentle voice from inside. Zheng Dan’s eyes widened. There was actually a voice this nice in this world? She immediately thought of orioles singing and pearls dropping onto a jade plate. However, neither of those beautiful sounds could accurately portray just how incredible this woman’s voice was!
Zu An sat down while holding Zheng Dan’s hand and said, “Lady Kong is too polite. I understand your worries, so I’m already thankful that you’re willing to meet with me this way.”
Kong Nanwu replied with a smile, “I wonder what the young master has come here for today?”
“So this is what happened…” Zu An explained Zheng Dan’s condition to her. “I heard that hatred arts came from the fiend races. Do you know any solutions to this issue?”
Kong Nanwu finally knew why he had sought her out. She replied, “Hatred arts indeed came from the fiend races. The fiend races are numerous. Apart from the races that are better known, there are some more remote and neglected races, like the blood race and specter race. The hatred arts originate from the specter race, but they’ve been modified by humans.”
Zheng Dan thought to herself, This woman really is well-learned! She actually knew so much about the fiend races… No wonder Zu An sought her out.
Zu An exclaimed in shock, “There’s actually a specter race in this world?”
If there were really things like departed spirits, why the hell would the emperor even pursue immortality? Wouldn’t it be great to just exist in a ghost form?
“It’s not what you’re thinking.” Kong Nanwu explained, “They’re just freaks who are neither dead or alive with some corpse and soul refining abilities. However, those ghosts don’t have any intelligence and only mechanically obey orders.”
“Then is there a way to cure my companion?” Zu An asked while gesturing toward Zheng Dan. He had actually wondered if Kong Nanwu was the one who had done it. After all, she had soul refinement skills too. Who knew if she had ended up having some kind of a grudge against him? But after he got to talk to her, he realized it didn’t have anything to do with her.
A momentary silence filled the room. A while later, Kong Nanwu said, “That might be difficult.”
Zu An was alarmed and asked, “Is there no cure?”
“That is not it…” Kong Nanwu changed to ki transmission. “The young master probably knows that since the other party used this kind of technique, they might have some kind of connection to the fiend races. You know that our fiend races have been discriminated against quite severely by humans recently. We’re all in human territory right now; it’s one thing if we don’t combine our forces, but if we were to interfere with each other, then…”
Zu An’s expression turned cold as he replied, “Is the lady planning to threaten me? Speak, what do you want?” This matter was related to Zheng Dan, so he couldn't be bothered to put up with much anymore. He wouldn’t hold back from doing what he had to for her.
“The young master misunderstands. That’s not what I’m saying. What I said just now were my sincere thoughts.” Kong Nanwu’s voice was full of hesitation as she continued, “I guess it’s fine. Since she’s the young master’s friend, I’ll meddle and help her this time.”