Familiar

Ye Chang'an was currently at the late stage of the Golden Core Stage.

He was also the young master of the Taiqing Pavilion. Having been personally taught by dozens of famous masters in the pavilion, the sword techniques and mental cultivation methods he learned were all top-tier in the cultivation world.

Although he had only scratched the surface of most of them, compared to other disciples, he could be considered to have some real ability. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so tyrannical and overbearing.

Earlier at the Beiyao Sect, he had suppressed his anger and refrained from attacking Song Yao only because of the hall full of sect managers and disciples. He was afraid of being accused of bullying the weak.

Now that they were outside the Beiyao Sect, and in a brothel of all places, it was the perfect opportunity to teach her a lesson.

However, within just a few breaths, Ye Chang'an realized something was wrong.

The young girl didn't even hold the sword herself. She simply sat on the table with her legs crossed, and with a flick of her fingers, the Bishui Sword attacked him like crazy.

Whatever sword formulas or mental cultivation methods he tried to use were completely dismantled the moment they were unleashed.

And she was clearly intent on tormenting him. Although she didn't deal any fatal blows, she dragged him to the brink of wishing he were dead.

In just a moment, his luxurious brocade robe was shredded to tatters, and his entire body was covered in crisscrossing wounds.

Ye Chang'an stumbled back repeatedly from the beating, utterly unable to understand why this was happening.

After a few exchanges, he could clearly feel that this girl's spiritual energy was nowhere near as abundant as his, and her cultivation level was definitely below his.

Under such circumstances, he should have been the one suppressing and beating her.

After all, the chasm between the early stage of the Golden Core and the late stage of the Golden Core was difficult to bridge.

But... but her swordplay...

It was simply too bizarre.

He couldn't see it clearly, and he couldn't understand it.

He felt that even the old masters who specialized in teaching swordplay in the Taiqing Pavilion couldn't achieve such a level.

He felt like crying.

Why did another lunatic have to appear right after Song Yao died?!

If she weren't a bit too weak compared to Song Yao, and if her tone and appearance were different, he would have truly believed they were the same person.

Under this continuous torment, his spiritual energy was nearly depleted. The hand holding his sword had long been mangled by the sword qi, to the point where he couldn't even grip the hilt.

Finally, with a loud clatter, the longsword slipped from his grasp and hit the floor.

He was forced into a corner, collapsing into a miserable heap.

The arrogance in his eyes had long been replaced by sheer terror. His once-haughty features cowered, making him look somewhat weak and pitiful.

His shoulders shook uncontrollably. Shivering like a coward, he opened his mouth to cry, but because of the silencing spell, he couldn't make a single sound.

At this moment, the Bishui Sword obediently returned to its sheath.

Song Yao strolled over, squatted down in front of him, and studied him.

Mhm.

This was much more familiar.

The Ye Chang'an in her memory was exactly like this—cowardly, useless, someone even a stray dog on the street could bully.

She had thought he had actually undergone some transformation, but it turned out he was still just a bully who preyed on the weak. A single beating had instantly revealed his true colors.

She snapped her fingers. Ye Chang'an regained his voice and burst into loud wails.

Song Yao swept a glance over him. “Keep it down.”

Frightened, he shrank back and covered his mouth, letting out muffled, trembling whimpers from his throat. “W-what do you want? What do you want from me? Ugh, I—I am the young master of the Taiqing Pavilion! The Saintess of the Beiyao Sect is my fiancée! If anything happens to me, they won't let you off, and they won't let the Nine Saints Hall off either!”

Song Yao tilted her head, resting her elbows on her knees. Her voice was soft and gentle. “Just like how they didn't let Wen Tang off?”

Ye Chang'an shuddered. “Y-you're also here to ask for your Fifth Senior Sister's whereabouts?”

“Otherwise, did Young Master Ye think I was so bored that I came all the way to Wanchun Pavilion just to have a friendly sparring match with you?”

“...”

Ye Chang'an stammered, “H-how would I know where Wen Tang is? My engagement with her has already been called off. Y-you should do what your Sixth Senior Brother did and ask Wen Wushuang and Wen Wumian...”

Song Yao raised an eyebrow. “You don't know?”

She smiled and curled her finger.

With a sharp clang, the Bishui Sword unsheathed itself once more.

The sharp blade sliced through the air. In the next instant, the cold, gleaming tip of the sword pointed directly at Ye Chang'an's pupil, barely half an inch from his eyeball. It looked as if it would pierce straight through his skull in the very next second.

Ye Chang'an instantly froze. His breath caught, and he didn't dare move a muscle. Only his lips trembled violently.

Song Yao said gently, “I will ask you one last time. Where is Wen Tang?”

With the threat of death so close at hand, two tears spilled from Ye Chang'an's eyes.

He shuddered, blurting out almost reflexively, “Wen Tang... Wen Tang was sent away by the Wen family!”

Song Yao was taken aback. “Sent away? Sent where?”

Ye Chang'an said in a panic, “I don't know! I really don't know about that!”

Song Yao furrowed her brows. “You know she was sent away, but you don't know where she was sent?”

The tip of the sword nudged forward slightly, nearly touching his cornea.

Ye Chang'an cried through his tears, “S-she wouldn't behave! I only said I didn't want to see her again, and the Wen family said they would make sure she never appeared before me again!”

Song Yao: “...”

Her expression turned slightly cold, and her brows knitted even tighter.

Earlier at the Beiyao Sect, she had noticed that the Wen siblings were far too submissive toward Ye Chang'an.

To test her theory, she had deliberately released the snake demon from the Twin Insect Cave to attack Ye Chang'an back in the Myriad Bones Forest secret realm. Sure enough, the siblings had thrown themselves forward to protect him, completely disregarding their own lives.

It seemed the Wen family was prepared to completely sever ties with the Nine Saints Hall and align themselves with the Taiqing Pavilion instead.

That was why she had gambled that Ye Chang'an, as the young master of the Taiqing Pavilion, would know just as much as the Wen siblings.

After all, prying information from a coward was much easier than getting answers from two poison cultivators who had been trained since childhood.

But she truly hadn't expected the Wen family to directly send Wen Tang away just to curry favor with Ye Chang'an.

Wasn't Wen Tang supposed to be the next head of the Wen family?

Slightly bewildered, she stood up and cast a downward glance at Ye Chang'an.

Her gaze was light and indifferent, clearly devoid of any real emotion.

Yet Ye Chang'an was so terrified that he shuddered again, hurriedly babbling, “I'm really not lying to you! T-they seemed to have made a deal with Yong'an Tower. Wen Tang was taken away by Yong'an Tower... I really don't know where she went!!”

Song Yao: “Yong'an Tower?”

Her expression turned slightly solemn.

This was going to be a bit tricky.

Yong'an Tower was a complex and mysterious organization. It spanned every corner of the Tianshu Realm, and its business operations were incredibly diverse.

There was nothing they couldn't do, only things one couldn't think of.

Trading items, posting bounties, taking commissions, gathering information—as long as one stepped into Yong'an Tower, anything could be resolved.

The tower also employed a group of hunters, each possessing unfathomable cultivation.

Its waters ran too deep to measure. It was even rumored that the emergence of the Heavenly Revelation Board was the work of Yong'an Tower.

Between going to the Wen family to demand Wen Tang's whereabouts and going to Yong'an Tower, she couldn't tell which would be more difficult.

With nothing else to ask, she lightly turned her wrist, and the Bishui Sword returned to its sheath with a crisp clack.

As if all his strength had been drained, Ye Chang'an slumped limply in the corner, drenched in sweat, his entire body wracked with agonizing pain.

“Get lost.”

Leaving him with those two words, Song Yao turned back to the table and poured herself a cup of wine.