Chapter 53: This Time We Made a Fortune!

After descending the mountain, Xue Yuan headed straight for the Celebration Spring Pavilion.

The moment he stepped through the doors, he bellowed, "Where is Lin Shishi? I'm here for her!"

A chorus of veteran patrons inside instantly wore expressions of shock and shared righteous indignation!

How on earth was this damned bastard back again?

The last time he was here, he had beaten the renowned courtesan until she bled, and word had it she was still recovering her health. Yet he still wouldn't let her go?

What an absolute beast! Truly a disgrace to the world of pleasure! Bah!

The procuress was so anxious her eyes were bloodshot. She hurried forward to grab Xue Yuan, crying out with a sob in her voice, "My lord, my lord, you cannot do this! Lady Shishi's condition has only worsened these past few days; she truly cannot receive guests! I beg you to show some kindness and spare her today!"

Xue Yuan flew into a rage, pointing at the procuress and scolding, "Get lost! I'm showing kindness by coming to see her. If you talk back again, I'll burn down this brothel of yours! My men are already outside, and the torches are lit!"

Hearing this, the patrons immediately scrambled to their feet and fled.

"Hey, you haven't paid yet!"

The handyman tried to stop them, but not a single one was held back!

Helpless, the procuress had no choice but to go and report to Lin Shishi once more.

"Princess, this is terrible! That madman is back again!"

"He... *cough, cough*... did he really come?"

"He really is here! What should we do? Let's fight him to the death! The Princess's body cannot endure another torment like that!"

"There is no need. Let him come."

"Ah, Princess?"

"I said, let him come!"

The procuress noticed that the Princess's tone carried not the slightest hint of resistance.

What was the meaning of this?

The procuress couldn't figure it out, but she hurriedly brought Xue Yuan over nonetheless.

Xue Yuan entered the room and shut the door.

Without a word, he pulled aside the turquoise gauze curtains. Lin Shishi was lying on the bed, covered by a gold-embroidered silk quilt. Her face was as pale as paper, devoid of strength, and her cheeks had sunken significantly—she bore no resemblance to a top courtesan anymore.

"Am I... perhaps much uglier than before?" Lin Shishi suddenly propped up half her body and asked earnestly.

Xue Yuan thought for a moment, then replied tactfully yet without violating his conscience, "Ugly or not... why are you being so serious with a madman like me?"

Lin Shishi understood his meaning. She sighed and murmured, "Today... today I didn't wash my face. If I had washed it... I suppose I would look a bit better."

Xue Yuan watched her persistent demeanor, feeling a slight urge to laugh.

But the smile quickly vanished.

Damn it, he was going to have to kiss her in a moment. Looking like this pale ghost, how was he supposed to bring himself to do it?

Oh well, oh well. He supposed this could be considered sacrificing himself for the sake of others. Who told him to be a Confucian scholar, after all?

Thus, he said, "I've acquired the Grand Scholar's righteous energy, but I'll need to feed it to you mouth-to-mouth shortly. Let me know when you're ready."

Hearing this, Lin Shishi furrowed her brows slightly and asked, "How... how is it this method? Why have I never heard of such a thing?"

Xue Yuan wore a disdainful expression and retorted, "No, why do you make it sound like I'm intentionally taking advantage of you? If I wanted to take advantage, I would have done it last time. Taking advantage now actually feels like a loss to me!"

"You..." Furious, Lin Shishi raised her hand as if to strike him, but ultimately lacked the strength. She could only collapse back onto the bed and say, "Fine, that wasn't what I meant. I've simply never been with a man, so naturally... I have no experience!"

"Not even once?"

"Of course not! Those men entered my chambers, but before they could even catch a glimpse of my true face, they were already trapped within my illusions."

"Then your business practices aren't very honest, are you?"

"My business... *cough, cough*... is entirely fair to both young and old, because they already obtained what they desired within the illusion!"

"Yet you, a dignified Princess of Yelang, why do you do such a thing? Is the grand cause of restoring the nation really that strapped for cash?"

"I do not do it for money. I merely use it to cultivate my illusions, extract intelligence, and occasionally bestow wealth to win the hearts of the people. Those men are exceptionally easy to manipulate... you are the first exception!"

At this, Lin Shishi cast a resentful glance at Xue Yuan. She could not understand why her proud illusions failed to captivate him. Was she not beautiful enough to move him?

Xue Yuan immediately straightened his back and proclaimed with an air of utter righteousness, "I harbor vast righteous energy within my breast, so naturally I am immune to illusions! If you don't believe it... you can try again next time!"

It would be best if she could host a special club illusion event. There were no stockings here, and that kind of material couldn't even be manufactured. What was even more outrageous was that wearing a short skirt here still got people scolded for public indecency...

Lin Shishi fell silent, collapsing powerlessly onto the bed.

Xue Yuan then said, "Alright, let's begin then! Look, it's common knowledge that I am full of righteous energy and keep my distance from women, and this is my first time too, so be gentle!"

Speechless, Lin Shishi closed her eyes and said, "Then... I shall do my best!"

Xue Yuan took a deep breath, cupped Lin Shishi's face in his hands, closed his eyes, and leaned in.

Soon, his lips touched her delicate ones.

Soft, and full of elasticity.

There was also a faint, pleasant fragrance. If he kept his eyes closed, the sensation was quite acceptable.

In fact, recalling her dance on the painted boat that day, and using his hands to feel her soft, slender waist, it was fundamentally quite pleasant.

However, Lin Shishi kept her teeth tightly clenched, making the blending of their breaths impossible.

Xue Yuan had no choice but to gently guide her with his tongue, while his hands involuntarily cooperated by resting on her waist.

"Mmh!"

Lin Shishi let out a soft moan and finally parted her lips.

In an instant, two streams of energy intermingled!

Xue Yuan felt the trace of Grand Scholar righteous energy within his body surge forth like a torrent of rushing water, pouring directly into Lin Shishi's mouth.

Simultaneously, he felt another stream of energy—far more majestic than the Grand Scholar's righteous energy—roar forth like the Milky Way cascading from the nine heavens, pouring madly into his own body!

Before this energy, the Grand Scholar's righteous energy seemed as naive as a three-year-old child!

And compared to this energy, his own seventh-rank Confucian righteous energy was like an earthworm meeting a giant dragon, trembling in the corner of his meridians!

"What formidable Xuanwu True Qi!"

Xue Yuan felt a twinge of worry. Would this energy cause him harm? After all, righteous energy and true energy were supposedly incompatible!

Yet, to his shock, he quickly discovered that the Xuanwu True Qi absorbed all the Confucian righteous energy within his body with an overbearing and peerless posture!

Then, it grew, expanded, and became even more formidable!

Xue Yuan was astonished, and then overjoyed!

He understood now!

So the "Xuanwu True Qi" wasn't true qi cultivated by martial artists, but rather another kind of grand energy that similarly existed between heaven and earth!

That made sense. It came from General Xuanwu, and General Xuanwu was a divine turtle, a sacred entity of the Yelang Kingdom. How could the energy refined from its body be compared to the true qi of mortal martial artists?

The crucial point was that this energy could coexist with true qi, and it could also coexist with righteous energy!

Once he figured this out, Xue Yuan's mind instantly cleared!

"Since it can absorb both types of energy, does that mean I can become the first person in history to dual-cultivate both Confucianism and Martial Arts?"

"Martial cultivators excel at close combat, while Confucian cultivators excel at long-range and area-of-effect spells, alongside plenty of buffing arts—like the battle melodies played by the musicians. If I master both, wouldn't I become a man capable of fighting at both close and long range, who even carries his own stereo into battle?"

"Furthermore, in Confucian cultivation, without the mindset of 'forgetting oneself and the realm' and 'sacrificing oneself for the common people,' one can at best reach the upper fourth rank before the righteous energy stops growing. That is the fundamental reason why one cannot become a Grand Scholar!"

"However, as long as I feed the heaven-and-earth righteous energy I cultivate into the Xuanwu True Qi, once the Xuanwu True Qi expands to a certain threshold, it might just shatter the bottleneck and help me ascend to Grand Scholar!"

"Brilliant, I've hit the jackpot this time!"