Chapter Fifty-Seven: Look, a Beautiful Woman

Qin Sihao and the others had been waiting at the west gate of Cloud Immortal City for quite some time before they finally saw the three approaching.

Tao Ming gazed up at the towering city walls and the majestic gate, exclaiming, "This is far more impressive than the walls of Chang'an!"

Su Nanxing took out a piece of white cloth and handed it to Tao Ming to cover her face, his voice heavy. "The Weishui region is fraught with danger—if the walls aren't high enough, they won't keep the enemy out."

Tao Ming looked up, only able to see Su Nanxing’s chin, faintly dusted with stubble. Puzzled, she asked, "What kind of enemy? The Seventh Prince hasn’t mentioned anything these past days."

Su Nanxing brushed his chin against Tao Ming’s forehead. "There are things even he doesn’t know."

Tao Ming grew even more suspicious. "If even he doesn’t know, how can you?"

Su Nanxing tightened his arm around her waist. "You really underestimate your husband! That calls for punishment!"

"Then punish me so I can’t get out of bed," she teased.

Su Nanxing held her even closer. "As you wish."

The Seventh Prince produced a document for the guards at the gate, and the group entered the city without trouble.

Cloud Immortal City was vastly larger than Xin Feng Town. The broad avenue was nearly a hundred meters wide, and in the center was a belt of greenery dividing the flow of carriages and horses in either direction. On both sides of the street, four- and five-story shops lined the way, bustling with crowds.

The Seventh Prince led the group through the city with practiced ease, turning here and there until at last they stopped before an inn.

Tao Ming looked up and read the signboard above the door: "North City Inn."

A servant hurried out to greet them. The Seventh Prince leaned in and spoke quietly; the servant immediately called someone to take the dragon horses to be fed, then led the group toward the rear of the inn.

Tao Ming glanced around curiously. The inn was quite large, with numerous courtyards—comparable to some of the resorts she’d visited before.

Su Nanxing gripped her hand tightly, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Don’t look around too much. There’s something strange about this place."

Tao Ming withdrew her gaze, fixed her eyes on the person ahead, and nodded silently.

After a quarter of an hour’s walk, they arrived at a secluded courtyard. The servant opened the gate, said, "Make yourselves comfortable," and left.

Tao Ming was startled. This wasn’t the kind of service she was used to!

The Seventh Prince stepped inside and called, "Niaoniao." At once, a melodious woman's voice answered, "Who is calling for Niaoniao?"

Curious, Tao Ming peered around the people in front of her and saw a young woman dressed in light yellow gauze, her flowing skirts embroidered with unfamiliar flowers. Her delicate, oval face was framed by jet-black hair, most of it simply gathered, the rest cascading by her neck. A small, watery green gemstone hung at her brow, perfectly placed. A hairpin adorned her head, its tip strung with tiny bells that rang sweetly as she walked with lotus-like steps.

Tao Ming grew excited, tugging Su Nanxing forward. "Look, look, a beauty!"

When Su Nanxing didn’t move, she began to grumble. "It’s all your fault, making me cover my eyes with that thing. Who knows how many handsome men and beautiful women I’ve missed on the way!"

By now, the Seventh Prince had stepped forward, stopping half a step from Niaoniao and instructing, "Settle everyone here for the night. Keep a close watch—don’t let outsiders in."

Niaoniao gazed at the Seventh Prince, her eyes deep and expressive, though in the end she only replied, "As you command," and turned to lead the group into the courtyard.

Tao Ming now had a chance to take in the courtyard’s layout. In the center stood a three-story building, about twenty meters long, with a staircase in the middle. Each side of the staircase had three room doors per floor, with a corridor connecting both wings.

This is just like an apartment building, Tao Ming thought, except there are no clothes or bedding hanging everywhere.

The front of the building was lush with flowers and plants, none of which Tao Ming recognized. On both sides of the main structure, rows of side rooms stretched out, half hidden by the building itself, making it hard to tell how many there were in all.

The Seventh Prince had already reached the front of the building. He stopped and called Tao Ming, Su Nanxing, Qin Sihao, Wind Shadow, and Dragon Scale to his side, instructing the others, "Find yourselves a room to rest. We’ll eat behind the building in half an hour."

Then, to Tao Ming and the others, he said, "Come with me."

Tao Ming glanced at Su Nanxing, who squeezed her hand reassuringly.

The Seventh Prince led them through the main building, around a row of rooms at the back, and after another short walk, they arrived at a two-story house. The stairs were to one side, with only four rooms per floor.

He opened the first room on the left and motioned for everyone to enter.

Inside, Tao Ming saw what appeared to be a meeting room: against the walls stood many tables and chairs, with no other furnishings. Su Nanxing guided her to a seat on the right; the others also found places.

Once seated, their affiliations were clear at a glance. Tao Ming was flanked by Su Nanxing on the left and Qin Sihao on the right. Across from her sat the Seventh Prince. To Su Nanxing’s left was Wind Shadow, and directly opposite them were Dragon Scale and Mu Zhong.

At this moment, Niaoniao entered with tea, pouring a cup for each, then quietly withdrew.

Tao Ming couldn’t take her eyes off Niaoniao, her gaze nearly glued to the woman.

The Seventh Prince noticed and asked, "Interested in her again?"

Tao Ming sighed in admiration, "She’s so beautiful! If you two went to another world, you’d make a fortune together!"

"If you like her, she’s yours," the Seventh Prince replied.

Tao Ming quickly shook her head. "No, I don’t want to be the plain leaf next to the red flower."

She teased him, "You’re something else, hiding such a beauty here. Why don’t you marry her?"

He laughed. "She’s just a maid."

After a pause, he looked at Tao Ming. "At the very least, I’d need someone like you to marry."

Su Nanxing shot him a glare. Tao Ming raised her brow. "At the very least, someone backed by the Qin family, right?"

The Seventh Prince chuckled and shook his head.

Qin Sihao interjected, "Mingming, your fifth uncle will always support you."

"You’re so good to me, Uncle."

Su Nanxing cleared his throat. "Can we talk business now?"

At this, the Seventh Prince turned serious. "Su Nanxing, tell us why you tried to assassinate the Saintess."

Su Nanxing looked at Tao Ming, aggrieved. "My father said no sacred beast has appeared in a thousand years. Now that the Saintess bears Qin blood, they can’t let the Qin family become too powerful—so he sent me."

"I assumed the Saintess was surnamed Qin—how was I to know it’d be you?"

Tao Ming patted his hand in understanding. Family rivalry—she could accept that.

Qin Sihao snorted. "We’ve yet to settle the score with the Su family for injuring Thirteenth Brother and his wife!"

Tao Ming whispered to Su Nanxing, "My father is Qin Siyu. Your family put my parents in bed with serious injuries."

Su Nanxing struggled to reply, "I truly didn’t know about that!"

The Seventh Prince drawled, "The people hidden on those two hills—were they yours, Su family?"

Su Nanxing nodded. "Before coming, I made a plan..."

Tao Ming interrupted, "I know why you failed—when have your plans ever succeeded?"

Su Nanxing tried to curry favor. "That’s because my wife brings great fortune!"

Then he gave a rough account of his and Wind Shadow’s plan. When he finished, Qin Sihao eyed Wind Shadow. "So you’re the one who jumped off the cliff?"

Wind Shadow nodded.

Qin Sihao snorted. "Impersonating someone from the Chen family!"

Wind Shadow looked up at the ceiling, thinking, Isn’t that normal?

Tao Ming pondered a moment, then asked, "Since you later arrived ahead of us to set up the Ten-Step Killing Array, why didn’t you just do that from the start? Weren’t all those people you brought sacrificed for nothing?"