A rare chance to tease Shi Qingjun, of course Ah Qing wouldn’t let it pass. Smiling at the corners of her brows, she sent Shi Qingjun an invitation to become a courtesan.

"Interested in joining me?"

Shi Qingjun: "..."

This was a woman who did not joke.

Having long been used to Ah Qing’s real personality from before, the scene before her eyes actually made Shi Qingjun waver a little.

She really is receiving clients in a brothel?

Shi Qingjun turned her head. Her gaze passed through the painted boat, landing on the Flower Moon Building on the distant shore. Lights intertwined, as if every corner was filled with traces of Ah Qing’s life.

Incomprehensible.

She had originally thought Ah Qing was at the Flower Moon Building to get close to Xu Chang’an through Zhu Tongjun, but now it seemed that wasn’t it, at least not entirely.

Ah Qing was clearly very satisfied with the fact that she lived in a brothel.

How could that be?

Shi Qingjun thought to herself that although she had changed from before and could now understand "aesthetics" and "the desire to eat," to have her understand Ah Qing’s idea of receiving clients in the Flower Moon Building was absolutely impossible.

Shi Qingjun’s gaze fell on Ah Qing.

If a woman like her received clients, then the guests she entertained... could they withstand the karmic weight of it?

And how would the Demon Sect react?

The corner of her eye twitched twice.

Shi Qingjun felt she mustn’t think along those lines. A simple bit of role reversal made it clear: if she, like Ah Qing, went to a brothel to receive clients, then... the sky over Qing Province would definitely come crashing down.

"You... really are a troublesome person," Shi Qingjun said.

"So what." Ah Qing spread her hands with a smile. "You said yourself you wouldn’t be my enemy, so you have no say over what I do."

As she spoke, Ah Qing’s tone paused.

To be honest, she really did want to know: if Shi Qingjun were to receive clients, what kind of earth‑shaking scene would erupt in the Chaoyun Sect? From what information she had, even a sash Shi Qingjun casually dropped could set off a fierce brawl among a whole crowd of Sect Leader Level cultivators in Chaoyun. If she were to openly say she was taking clients...

Then the lines that would form... would surely be quite a spectacle?

Ah Qing’s smile deepened.

She had to admit, once she herself had already stepped into the mud and had nothing left to scruple over, this urge to drag Shi Qingjun down into the mud with her... unexpectedly brought with it a dark sense of satisfaction.

Even if it was just indulging in a bit of talk, it still put her in a good mood.

"My aunt is always saying I was probably born for this line of work, but in my opinion, I still can’t compare to you." Ah Qing narrowed her eyes.

"Aunt?" Shi Qingjun, having been "teased," did not get angry.

She wouldn’t get angry over something this trivial.

On the contrary, she actually seriously considered Ah Qing’s suggestion.

One had to know, Shi Qingjun was currently at a time when she lacked a path forward. After Xu Chang’an appeared, he brought her the first confusion of her life. And Ah Qing happened to be, aside from herself, the only other Qiankun Realm.

Just as Ah Qing had said before, that she’d used Shi Qingjun’s path as reference, Ah Qing’s path had the same reference value for her.

Ah Qing must have her reasons for choosing to live in a brothel, and just the fact that Ah Qing was personally putting it into practice—no matter how strange, how bizarre, how incomprehensible it was—made it something worth studying for Shi Qingjun.

"If I came to live in a brothel, maybe I could understand her?"

So thought Shi Qingjun.

The key thing was, she wasn’t only curious about Ah Qing’s purpose; she also did not dislike the girls of the Flower Moon Building, so she could completely do what Ah Qing did and temporarily live there as well?

Her gaze passed through Ah Qing, through the lattice window, landing somewhere far off in Beisang City—on those girls under oil-paper umbrellas walking the night streets amid laughter, on the oil lamps burning bright on the tree branches.

"This place... might indeed be a good place," Shi Qingjun said softly.

"...Eh?"

Hearing Shi Qingjun’s words, Ah Qing was stunned.

Wait, wait.

She’d been joking.

Why did it sound like Shi Qingjun really was thinking of settling down here?

That couldn’t be right.

Ah Qing’s pupils trembled violently in their sockets as she stared fixedly at Shi Qingjun.

This good‑for‑nothing woman.

You’re the Lord of Qingzhou, Immortal Chaoyun, the spiritual pillar in the hearts of countless people—completely different from a dispensable Sect Leader like me.

She herself could take it easy in this place; Shi Qingjun absolutely could not.

The moment she realized Shi Qingjun was wavering, a surge of anger bubbled up within Ah Qing. She snorted lightly. "This isn’t a place for you. Forget what I said."

"You can, but I can’t?" Shi Qingjun frowned, thoughtful.

"We’re not the same," Ah Qing reminded her. "Can you perform on stage? Can you dance? Or sing an aria?"

"...No." Shi Qingjun nodded.

"See?" Ah Qing spread her hands.

It was because she had suffered too much as a girl that she’d learned a bit of everything and knew a bit of everything. She’d even once had her earlobes pierced—something that, for a woman, was precisely a mark of low status.

But Shi Qingjun, she definitely would not know such things.

Their trains of thought had never really aligned. Right now, Shi Qingjun was thinking about something very important. For her, this so‑called "change" was the ability to understand "aesthetics" and "the desire to eat"—changes that corresponded to her liking flowers and liking pastries...

If these things were a gradual progression...

Then, after her sense of beauty and desire to eat were satisfied, what kind of desire would she need as fuel... Well, not necessarily "need," but as a necessary experience for regaining her emotions?