Recruiting Troops and Nighttime Arrangements

After Lila Vane died, Ivy Shen glanced at Quinn standing to the side. She wasn’t exactly a good person herself, and she figured keeping him alive would only cause trouble. Just as Ivy was about to use her inner force to make him simple-minded—so he wouldn’t be able to reveal anything unexpected happened.

But what no one expected was that Quinn actually hugged Lila Vane’s already-dismembered, bone-white corpse and slit his own throat right in front of everyone. His final words were: "At last, no one can separate us anymore!"

Watching Quinn’s obsessive devotion, Adrian Night and Lucian Vane were both deeply shaken. Love really doesn’t care about rank or status—even if the one you love won’t look at you, just being able to stay by their side is enough!

Without any delay, Ivy Shen left a huge message on the wall in Lila Vane’s room: Song Zhijue, I’m back!

She knew Song Zhijue would definitely come looking for Lila Vane. When he saw those words, he’d probably be scared out of his wits. The whole point was to remind him that she’s still alive—and, more importantly, to keep her sister safe. Ivy figured that killing Lila Vane herself would leave a huge psychological scar in Song Zhijue’s heart, making him see her as a ruthless demon who’ll stop at nothing. That way, he’d be much less likely to harm his precious chess piece!

After that, the group wasted no time and headed straight for Ruiland City.

“Xin’er, Song Zhijue has cast a net across the realm to catch you. Now that Lila Vane is dead, he’ll go even crazier searching for you,” Adrian Night said, glancing at Ivy Shen from inside the carriage.

After spending these days together, their sharp minds had pieced everything together. What pained them most was how someone so young had to shoulder so much pressure and suffering.

"Xin’er, what’s our next move?" Lucian Vane, now firmly on her side, quickly asked for her opinion.

"There’s still some time before the Wulin Grand Tournament. I think what we should do now is recruit troops and buy horses!" Ivy Shen grinned slyly, looking so mischievous that the two guys in the carriage were left totally speechless.

“Recruit troops and buy horses?” How exactly are we supposed to do that? Lucian Vane shook his head, trying not to get distracted by his own fangirling.

“I got word recently that Song Zhijue has started conscripting guards in the Soaring Phoenix Realm. His whole goal is to guard against me—he’s recruiting all these guards and training them into killing machines. Even if we had three heads and six arms, there’s no way we could take on that many people. And since we’re on his turf, there’s no way we can openly recruit anyone. Plus, he’s got a pretty high reputation among the common folk. The moment he posts an imperial notice, tons of people will rush to sign up.” As she spoke, Ivy Shen suddenly paused and started fanning herself, glancing at the two guys.

“So you mean, go somewhere else?” Adrian Night, black-bellied as ever, caught on instantly.

“Exactly.”

“Then where to?” Lucian Vane pressed on.

Ivy Shen smiled and answered clearly, “Chu Kingdom!”

Both guys froze for a second. Never mind anything else—just look at the relationship between Soaring Phoenix Realm and Chu Kingdom. Last year, the old Chu emperor even married off his beloved daughter to the Crown Prince as a gesture of goodwill. With that kind of groveling attitude, why would he ever help her attack Soaring Phoenix Realm?

And besides, everyone knows that old Chu emperor is terrified of war and even more terrified of dying. There’s no way he’d take such a risky, thankless gamble!

Seeing right through their worries, Ivy Shen curled her lips and said, “I checked it out—only Chu Kingdom has the numbers to stand against Soaring Phoenix Realm. The other small countries just don’t have enough people; even put together, they can’t match Draken City. So if we want to fight back, we have to take Chu Kingdom!”

“But Xin’er, that old Chu emperor is seriously afraid of dying. He even let his eldest son do horrible things to his younger son and didn’t lift a finger to stop it. Just shows how much he hates causing trouble.” The story of the Chu Crown Prince and Crown Princess plotting against the second prince was already all over the place—there’s no way the old emperor didn’t know.

“The more afraid of death he is, the easier he’ll be to manipulate. If I’m not wrong, the Crown Prince will be way easier to negotiate with.” As she finished, Ivy Shen flashed a cold, sinister smile. When dealing with someone that heartless, there’s only one way: be even more ruthless, even more poisonous than him!

“Xin’er, you mean you’re going straight to the Crown Prince?” Lucian Vane frowned, clearly not a fan of that soulless guy.

“We’ll definitely have to meet him, but first we need to check out that cowardly old thing. Honestly, rumors aren’t always reliable—everyone says the Crown Prince is kind and noble, but is he really? Most things, you have to see for yourself to know the truth!”

“By the way, Xin’er, what happened to the prince you saved in Lark City last time?” Lucian Vane suddenly got all gossipy. Mentioning Chu Kingdom reminded him of that guy, since the prince was chained up head to toe—honestly, even if he was rescued, he’s probably crippled for life!

“No idea. Steward Liu sent word by carrier pigeon that the prince left before his injuries had healed.” At this, Ivy Shen absently touched the bracelet on her wrist, guessing he must be really heartbroken. No one can bear being betrayed and hurt by their own family.

Seeing Ivy Shen frown, Adrian Night spoke up: “Honestly, losing his royal status might let him live a better life.” Then, as if something occurred to him, he asked, “Xin’er, after we get back to Ruiland City, are you planning to bring Liam Willow with us to Chu Kingdom?” He knew Liam’s feelings for her were genuine—and that she also cared for him. That simple kid was pretty likable.

“Nope. Little White Rabbit doesn’t know any martial arts—he can’t go.”

Little White Rabbit? The moment he heard that nickname, Lucian Vane shivered all over, secretly relieved that he called himself Poison Snake—if he’d been tagged Little White Rabbit, he’d never live it down.

“Mm.” Adrian Night nodded, agreeing with her decision. After all, Liam Willow had zero martial arts skill, and no one knew what would happen on this trip—he definitely couldn’t risk it.

A few hours later—

Ivy Shen’s return made everyone super happy. Madam Yun hurried over to report the accounts for the past few days—honestly, it was like striking gold every single day! Business was booming so much that guests now had to book in advance since space was limited. Of course, other places in town had started copying their decor and setup, but people still preferred Ivy’s place, because there was always something fresh and new here—no one else could keep up.

Nodding in satisfaction at the profits, Ivy Shen then told Madam Yun to buy out the biggest brothel in Ruiland City—no matter the price. She wanted to open a new branch! One big enough to hold way more guests!

When Madam Yun heard about the new branch, she immediately spread the word. The staff were so excited they actually cheered. Their pay here was already way better than years of their old jobs, and this new opportunity made them even more grateful. With the promise of a new branch, everyone was pumped—and their high salaries made the outside world jealous, sparking constant questions about job openings.

All those job inquiries just made the staff work even harder—they were terrified of messing up and getting fired! That’s why you never saw anyone here offend a guest. Another big reason people loved coming was that the staff were super polite and friendly.

Ivy Shen was totally satisfied with all this, so she handed the branch-opening project to Madam Yun. She also let everyone know she’d be traveling far away soon, and put Liam Willow in charge of the accounts.

Money—she always felt safest when her own people were handling it!

And she knew no one would dare target Little White Rabbit, since he had a secret protector by his side. That made her feel way better about leaving for her trip.

“Young Master, dinner’s ready!” Madam Yun set up a huge spread in the private dining room, then left with a smile.

“Everyone, sit down and eat,” Ivy Shen called out, inviting everyone to the table.

“Huh? Where’s Butterfly Rogue?” Sitting down, Ivy noticed Liam Willow and Colin Kerr were there, but the noisy one was missing, so she couldn’t help but ask.

"Wife, here you go." Liam Willow hurriedly pulled out a mysterious box from his robes and handed it to her. "Butterfly Rogue asked me to give this to you. He said to remind you of your agreement, um... He also said he’s off to steal a big present, and next time you meet, he’ll give it as betrothal gift for your sister." Liam felt awkward listening to him call himself 'little brother-in-law' all the time, so he just kept quiet.

Opening the box, Ivy Shen saw a piece of jade as white as a sparrow’s egg, glowing with dazzling light, smooth as cream, and with faint multicolored glimmers inside. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. Touching the jade, she instantly felt a cool sensation spread through her fingers—refreshing and pleasant. Just like the rumors said: cool in summer, warm in winter. This was truly a top-grade jade!

Satisfied, Ivy Shen closed the box. Butterfly Rogue had really pulled it off—he’d gotten her the Ice-Soul Jade!

Everyone enjoyed this rare reunion—well, except for one person: Colin Kerr.

At that moment, Colin Kerr looked sadly at Liam Willow, who was staring dumbly at Ivy Shen and hadn’t glanced his way at all. It hurt, and Ivy Shen noticed his expression. She sighed—Colin was a good guy, and deserved a great girl. But…

Maybe that’s just how love is—it doesn’t care about gender at all!

----

Night fell quickly. Everyone started washing up and getting ready for bed. Lucian Vane was especially eager to spend some time with Xin’er tonight.

But what he didn’t expect was that, just as he was ready and about to head to Xin’er’s room, a tall, elegant figure was already standing in the hallway.

“Adrian Night?” Lucian Vane frowned and walked over.

"You’re here?" Adrian Night glanced at him and spoke calmly.

Lucian Vane nodded, looking at him with confusion. "Why are you here? Don’t tell me..." Wait, wasn’t it his turn for the schedule? What was Adrian doing here?

"You can’t be with her tonight." Just as Lucian Vane was wondering, Adrian Night suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? Why not?"

"We’re heading to Chu Kingdom tomorrow."

"Yeah, and?"

"We might be gone a long time."

"Uh?"

"So, you can’t go tonight. I’ve already made arrangements."

"Arrangements? What did you arrange?"