Chapter Sixty-Two: Xiuer and Qiqi

Seeing the two men hesitating, the woman on the bed seemed to grow angry. She sat up abruptly, exposing a vast expanse of snowy white skin, certain parts tantalizingly visible, stirring the blood of any who gazed upon her. Zhou Qi dared not look further, fearing he would lose himself.

“Clean yourself up and make yourself presentable. If, when I return, you two are still making excuses, don’t blame me for being merciless.” With that, the woman vanished from the bed.

Zhou Qi and the other man exchanged glances, the latter’s face contorted with fear and heavy sighs.

“Brother, such a beauty and you refuse her—what’s the reason?” Zhou Qi broke the silence, determined to understand before anything else.

“Ah, beautiful she may be, but I can’t enjoy such fortune. Who would have thought, after centuries of romantic escapades, I, Huangfu Xiu, would stumble into such a trap? It’s really disgraceful,” the man lamented.

“Is there some hidden story?” Zhou Qi asked.

“Forget it. Now we’re both grasshoppers tied to the same string. I’ll tell you, so you won’t die confused.” Huangfu Xiu sighed once more and began, “I was originally a son of the Huangfu clan, gifted from birth, of unmatched talent. More importantly, I was born handsome, and I can’t count the number of women whose hearts I captured. Whenever a woman saw me, she wished to be by my side, to spend her days and nights with me. You know, I’ve always had a soft heart—I couldn’t bear to see women cry for me. To rescue them, I had to sacrifice myself, immerse myself in their world, listen to their hearts.”

“Brother Huangfu, just get to the point,” Zhou Qi interrupted, thinking that the man was nothing if not a lecher, yet still spoke so eloquently. So he had been transported to the territory of the Huangfu clan.

Interrupted, Huangfu Xiu was quite displeased. “I’m just giving you some background. Why are you in such a hurry?”

Zhou Qi could only resign himself to listen.

“One day, after successfully forming my Golden Core, I was feeling triumphant and couldn’t resist flying on my sword. I wanted to visit the brothel to listen to the stories of those fallen girls. Unexpectedly, halfway there, I met a peerless beauty. Her figure was stunning—about 36, 24, 32, by my experience. I could tell at a glance that she was a woman with a story in her heart. Kindhearted as I am, I wanted to comfort her.”

Huangfu Xiu paused, as if still savoring the memory.

“And then you fell for her trap?” Zhou Qi pressed, impatient with half-told stories.

“She took a liking to my handsome self and told me her name was Qiqi. But I didn’t expect her cultivation was Nascent Soul. She tried to forcibly possess me, placed a restriction on me, and took me to her lair,” Huangfu Xiu continued.

Qiqi—Zhou Qi’s face darkened. “Why didn’t you just submit? Isn’t that exactly your style?”

“Initially, I thought so too. But brother, you don’t know—outside this room are only men, most reduced to shriveled corpses. Qiqi is evidently cultivating some demonic technique, needing to dual cultivate and absorb others’ power. Though I wanted to save the beauty, I wasn’t about to sacrifice my life. Earlier, I was bewitched by her charm, and if you hadn’t suddenly appeared, I’d probably be a dried corpse by now. Now, it’ll be two of us,” Huangfu Xiu said gloomily.

Zhou Qi was speechless. He hadn’t expected to be transported to such a place. Saintess, oh saintess, you mean well, but it seems the more you try to help, the worse things get.

“So I saved your life, and you still wanted to drag me down?” Zhou Qi said angrily.

“Thank you for saving me, brother. May I ask your name, so I can repay you in my next life?” Huangfu Xiu clasped his hands in thanks.

“I’m Zhou Qi.” Seeing that Huangfu Xiu wasn’t arrogant, Zhou Qi answered offhandedly.

“Qiqi?” Huangfu Xiu exclaimed.

“The ‘Qi’ of ‘strange’,” Zhou Qi clarified.

“Forgive me, I’m a bit nervous whenever I hear the sound ‘Qi’ now,” Huangfu Xiu explained.

“Xiu’er, as a young lord of the Huangfu clan, don’t you have any secret methods?” Zhou Qi was curious. The Huangfu clan was as powerful as the Heavenly Dao Sect; it didn’t make sense for their young lord to lack any means of self-preservation.

Huangfu Xiu was somewhat annoyed by Zhou Qi’s “Xiu’er,” but didn’t correct him—now wasn’t the time. “I’ve just entered Golden Core, while she’s already Nascent Soul. Besides, she only placed a restriction on me, not tried to kill me. Even if I had a life-saving method, it’d be useless. If she succeeded, I’d die from pleasure, and it probably wouldn’t trigger the family’s safeguards,” Huangfu Xiu said gloomily.

“So if I tried to kill you, that would trigger your safeguard? Would it attack Qiqi?” Zhou Qi was eager.

“You’d die first, and whether it would attack Qiqi isn’t certain,” Huangfu Xiu replied.

What now?

“True Lord, do you have any ideas?” When in doubt, ask the True Lord.

“There is a way, but it requires you to make some sacrifices. This woman is a ninth-rank succubus. If you feign compliance, I can seize the opportunity to attack her soul sea, just as I did with the Golden Core cultivator before—at the cost of some soul power. But I can’t stray far from you; I’ll need to be very close, and she must be completely unguarded,” the Heavenly Profound True Lord said.

The scene of slaying the Golden Core cultivator flashed through Zhou Qi’s mind—then, to save Liu Piaopiao, the True Lord’s soul force formed a needle that killed the opponent’s spirit. Perhaps this method would work again: first let Huangfu Xiu serve her until she’s thoroughly relaxed, then get close and let the True Lord strike.

He hadn’t expected to encounter a second succubus so soon. Though only ninth rank, if he found another demon core from a Heart-Mirror Phantom Wolf, he could refine another Immortal Bewitchment Formation. Ninth rank equaled mid-Nascent Soul; it could trap Nascent Soul cultivators.

“True Lord, can a ninth-rank demon beast transform into a human?” Zhou Qi asked, curious. It was said only demonfolk at the Divine Transformation stage could truly resemble humans.

“This succubus can’t, except for certain special races. She’s using illusion arts, so she appears perfectly human. Once you slay her, you’ll understand,” the True Lord explained.

With the plan settled, Zhou Qi needed to persuade Huangfu Xiu.

“Xiu’er, do you want to be sucked dry or escape?” Zhou Qi asked gravely.

“Of course I want to escape. Qiqi, do you have a way?” Seeing Zhou Qi persistently call him Xiu’er, Huangfu Xiu switched to calling him Qiqi, unwilling to lose out.

“I have a method to kill Qiqi, but she must be unguarded and within arm’s reach. Xiu’er, it’ll be your task to lull her into a false sense of security, and I’ll seize the chance to strike,” Zhou Qi said.

“If it requires close contact and lowering her guard, why don’t you do it yourself? You’re both named Qiqi—there’s a natural affinity,” Huangfu Xiu said suspiciously.

Zhou Qi, face dark, patiently flattered him: “Naturally because you’re more handsome and experienced. When Qiqi sees your face, she’ll relax. Besides, I have to be ready to strike, no time to please her.”

Hearing Zhou Qi praise his looks, Huangfu Xiu was quite pleased, though still wary. “I’m not well-read, so don’t trick me.”

“In matters of life and death, I wouldn’t dare joke about our lives,” Zhou Qi swore, and only then did Huangfu Xiu feel assured.