Yu Xiang nodded at Xi Fuhong with a gentle expression.
“My name is Yu Xiang, sworn brother of Shi Cuiyan,” he said generously, cupping his hands in greeting.
Hearing this, Xi Fuhong quickly returned the gesture, “I-I’m Xi Fuhong.” Shi Cuiyan, seeing this, laughed and hugged Xi Fuhong, exclaiming that Yu Xiang had brought many delicacies and that they must drink until they couldn’t anymore.
However, Xi Fuhong didn’t expect Shi Cuiyan to intentionally get her drunk.
After a few cups of wine, she was already drowsy and soon fell asleep, leaving only Shi Cuiyan and Yu Xiang to enjoy the wine, music, and cool night.
Yu Xiang held a porcelain cup, taking a sip of the spicy drink.
He heard footsteps and glanced back at Shi Cuiyan, who had just returned from taking Xi Fuhong to the cabin.
Her expression changed to her usual playful smile, different from the tenderness she showed when Xi Fuhong was around, now a carefree, mischievous grin, embodying a devil-may-care attitude.
This was the Shi Cuiyan he knew, the Jianghu wanderer.
“If you don’t want her to hear, why bring her along?” Yu Xiang poured himself another cup of wine.
“Seeing her alone, I just wanted to keep her by my side,” Shi Cuiyan sat down casually, taking out the gourd Yu Xiang had given her earlier, sniffing the aroma of the wine, “It’s indeed a fine wine, but it’s a pity there’s only this small gourd left.
A good wine should be aged for a hundred years.”
Yu Xiang glanced at her, lost in thought.
Back then, she had endured hardships to find the Tiger Dragon Treasure, explored the mechanisms of Wu Feng Valley, was threatened by Gui Po’s poison, entered the Wulin Branch to outwit various heroes, and even clashed with Luo Da Dangjia.
In the end, rumors said the cave was just a myth, with no treasure to be found.
The exaggerated legend cost a life and wasted Shi Cuiyan’s youth.
Now, she was even more entangled…
“Some things must be let go,” Yu Xiang closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw Shi Cuiyan’s self-mocking smile.
She was more entangled in matters of the heart, a pain more tormenting than any treasure.
“Yu Xiang, tell me, how can one be called the most beautiful woman in the world?” Shi Cuiyan took the wine jug, drinking directly from it, the overflowing wine trickling down her fair neck, “I heard there’s a most beautiful woman at Yunli Lou, I want to go to Qinzhou to see for myself.”
“Think it through, just don’t do anything you’ll regret for the rest of your life,” Yu Xiang’s words pierced Shi Cuiyan’s heart like a needle.
Of course, she understood this, but she couldn’t just leave Xi Fuhong alone.
“Regret for a lifetime… what a regret for a lifetime…” Shi Cuiyan took a sip from the gourd, then tossed the remaining half into the dark river.
“Tell me, what is regret? What kind of mindset is called regret?” Shi Cuiyan’s eyes were filled with both ridicule and sorrow.
She was still too young to understand what it meant to regret, to regret for a lifetime.
Upon hearing this, she just hugged Ning Hua and laughed nonchalantly, “Alright, I’ll come find you later.”
“No, I mean I’m leaving, don’t… don’t come looking for me again.” Xi Fuhong looked up to meet her gaze.
The atmosphere immediately became oppressive, and a dangerous tension brewed in the silent room.
Shi Cuiyan’s eyes, which had been smiling, suddenly turned cold as she looked at Xi Fuhong, only to see the stubbornness in her eyes.
Don’t come looking again? Is Xi Fuhong planning to part ways? Is she jealous of Ning Hua and throwing a tantrum? …No, Xi Fuhong isn’t that scheming.
She truly wants to leave my side.
“Where do you plan to go after you leave?” Shi Cuiyan lowered her voice, her words carrying a hint of severity.
“Anywhere, it doesn’t matter.” Xi Fuhong averted her gaze.
“Oh? But you don’t have a penny on you.
Leaving me will only make you a beggar, is that alright?” Is being a beggar better than staying by my side with food and drink? Is being a beggar better than being my cherished sister? Shi Cuiyan tightened her grip, hurting Ning Hua’s wrist.
“Miss Shi, you’re hurting me,” a coquettish voice broke the stalemate between the two.
Shi Cuiyan lowered her eyes, looking at the soft and boneless woman in front of her, and a surge of anger rose in her heart.
Why does the famous Jianghu expert Shi Cuiyan have to go out of her way to please an unknown girl like Xi Fuhong? Is it worth it? Is it really worth all this effort?
“Alright, since my dear sister wants to be a beggar so much, then go ahead,” Shi Cuiyan said coldly.
Xi Fuhong’s whole body trembled.
She didn’t think being a beggar was so shameful, but now, hearing it from Shi Cuiyan’s mouth, it was like a bucket of cold water, leaving her embarrassed and without dignity.
Biting her trembling lower lip, Xi Fuhong tried to keep her tears from falling.
Being a beggar isn’t bad, she kept comforting herself, but her feet seemed rooted, unable to leave gracefully.
“Hey, aren’t you going to be a beggar? No one’s stopping you,” Ning Hua, half-dressed, glanced at Xi Fuhong with disdain, “If you’re leaving, then go, don’t ruin our good time here.”
Xi Fuhong closed her eyes tightly and rushed out of the bedroom without looking back.
She ran away from Yunli Lou, the humiliation like a knife cutting into her heart.
This time, she wasn’t deceived, but it hurt more than being deceived.
Did Shi Cuiyan deliberately trample on her heart by bringing her to the brothel? Did she intentionally let the courtesans look down on her? Did she say those hurtful words on purpose?
She hated it, hated that she still felt this heartache…
Shi Cuiyan sat where she was, letting Ning Hua remove her clothes.
The raindrop-like kisses fell on her chest, but she had no interest.
Finally, she irritably pulled Ning Hua down beneath her.
Looking at that charming face, she suddenly felt nauseated.
She didn’t want to kiss her, nor did she want to have her.
She knew it was just a fleeting moment, but it didn’t stir the same impulse she had for Xi Fuhong.
Not every woman could arouse her desire.
Perhaps only her dear sister could…
