The Earth Sect's Great Young Master, seated at the center of the great hall and receiving toasts from the crowd, suddenly gave off a low dragon's roar that ordinary people could not hear.
His expression changed, and he abruptly turned his head to look at Mo Hua.
By this time, Mo Hua's eyes had already lost the eerie black-and-white colors of his deduction. His eyelids drooped slightly as he raised his teacup again and took a sip.
The Great Young Master stared at Mo Hua with a dragon-like gaze.
Mo Hua remained as calm as still autumn water, open and unruffled, as if nothing had happened. He even lifted his eyes and glanced at the Great Young Master tranquilly.
The Great Young Master frowned slightly, uncertain what to make of him.
Just then, someone called out softly, "Great Young Master..."
He turned and saw a few young men from noble families. Intimidated by his authority, they asked nervously, "Is there... something displeasing to you?"
The Great Young Master was silent for a moment, then said, "It's nothing." He then drew back his imposing aura and sat upright in the center again, accepting everyone's flattery.
The atmosphere in the hall returned to normal.
The crowd silently sighed in relief, afraid that some unknown matter might have provoked the Great Young Master and caused them to suffer instead.
The Great Young Master was stern and moody; being near him was like being near a tiger—one had to be extremely careful and never slacken in respect.
Only the legitimate young masters of the Lu, Wu, Zhu, and Jin families cast a faint, almost imperceptible glance at Mo Hua before withdrawing their gazes without a trace.
Bai Xiaosheng also looked at Mo Hua with astonishment.
He was closest to Mo Hua, so when Mo Hua activated his eerie calculation power and probed the Great Young Master's karmic threads, Bai Xiaosheng sensed a wave of extremely profound and mysterious fluctuation.
But it lasted only an instant, and he hadn't seen anything clearly before Mo Hua's eyes were shut again.
Still, a storm rose in Bai Xiaosheng's heart:
"This kid... what the hell is he? What did he just do?"
"He couldn't possibly know heavenly fate calculation too, could he?!"
That sort of thing... is there still anyone alive who can learn it? Could he really be...?
Bai Xiaosheng sat there dumbfounded, holding a wine jug in his hand.
Mo Hua sensed something and turned to look at Bai Xiaosheng.
Bai Xiaosheng silently tipped the wine jug into his mouth, tilting his head back and half-closing his eyes to hide the shock in his heart and keep Mo Hua from noticing anything.
Mo Hua didn't pay it much mind and turned back to continue sipping his tea.
Bai Xiaosheng gulped down a mouthful of wine, using the alcohol to suppress his emotions, and cursed inwardly:
Damn, this is some heavy karma. I knew it—where did Little Grandaunt get this junior fellow apprentice from?
Anyone Little Grandaunt acknowledges as a junior fellow apprentice can't possibly be a normal person.
So that's how it is.
But he only dared mutter these words in his heart, then immediately cut off the thought, lest that unfathomable Mo Hua perceive it.
Mo Hua, on his part, was also thinking about his own matters and didn't notice Bai Xiaosheng's thoughts much.
Because the disturbance in his own heart was no small matter.
"The Young Master Pavilion..."
The Earth Sect's Great Young Master was wrapped in karmic threads that were purple-black, rotting, and filled with deep desire, like poppies.
Such karma was invisible to ordinary mortal eyes, but it could not escape Mo Hua's divine eyes.
This noble Earth Sect Great Young Master was most likely a member of the "Young Master Pavilion."
Could the Earth Sect's Great Young Master have once gone to Qianxue Prefecture to study?
Or had he connected with the Young Master Pavilion through some other channel?
Given his status and the degree of rotting karma on him, his position within the Young Master Pavilion was probably not low.
Mo Hua's gaze hardened and his heart sank slightly.
The matter in Kun Prefecture was becoming more complicated. The deeper he got involved, the more entangled karmic threads revealed themselves.
As Mo Hua was pondering, the great hall suddenly fell silent.
Everyone held their breath and stopped speaking loudly.
Even the Earth Sect's Great Young Master and the legitimate young masters of the great families grew somewhat more solemn.
Mo Hua's heart stirred, and he looked around.
He saw large red peonies blooming one after another on the floor, spreading across the entire hall.
At the same time, flower petals rained down from above.
A refreshing, intoxicating fragrance filled the air.
A bewitching sound arose. Red flowers bloomed overhead, forming a gorgeous path of petals from the high tower above the hall, like a brilliant flower carpet.
A graceful figure, bright and beautiful as snow, dressed in a begonia-red robe, stepped down slowly along the flower carpet from the high tower. Amid the blooming flowers, she seemed like a flower goddess descended into the mortal world, or like a rich and elegant peony outshining all other blossoms.
She wore delicate makeup, her face extremely beautiful. In her magnificent, nation-toppling brows and eyes was a cold, aloof nobility untouched by the mundane world.
Her clothing fit tightly, looking dignified, yet the curves it outlined were extremely alluring.
The bright red robe made her exposed wrists seem like the bright moon, her neck and collarbone like white jade, and her face like ice and snow.
She made people dare not defile her, yet also made them eager to defile her at once.
All the young noblemen present were stirred by this cold yet contrasting peerless beauty.
Rotten desire began to spread through the hall.
Many could not help feeling their mouths go dry and swallowing.
Even Mo Hua's mind seemed briefly pulled by the beauty, a trace of daze appearing.
But it lasted only an instant before his mind cleared and his gaze turned penetrating. He looked up carefully at this country-toppling Flower Queen.
He had seen this Flower Queen's face before in Bai Xiaosheng's paintings of the Top Ten Beauties.
But after all, a painting was only a painting. No matter how lifelike, it was different from the real person—it lacked the most important spiritual charm.
Now, seeing that peerless face with his own eyes, Mo Hua felt a sudden understanding.
Though her makeup and features had changed somewhat, becoming fairer and more beautiful than before, her karmic aura had not changed. It was indeed...
"...Yu Lian'er."
Mo Hua looked calm and thought: Just as I suspected.
This Flower Queen of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, Yu Nujiao, was none other than Yu Lian'er—the one he had encountered in the battle at the Dragon Pool in the Great Wilderness...
The Holy Maiden of the Union Sect.
No wonder the Flower Queen of Houtu City was the Union Sect's Holy Maiden—she could drive so many men to forget food and sleep, obsessed and crazed.
After Yu Nujiao descended onto the flowers with her bare snow-white feet, her aloof gaze swept over Mo Hua, but lingered for not even a moment.
As if Mo Hua were just an ordinary young master, not worthy of even a single glance from this lofty Flower Queen.
Not just Mo Hua—all the noble young masters were treated the same by Yu Nujiao; she did not spare them a second glance.
After all, in terms of standing, righteousness and demonic ways could not coexist.
In terms of true identity, she was the Union Sect's Holy Maiden, no worse than any young master present.
And when it came to desire, all men before her, the Holy Maiden of Union, could only submit.
This pure, cold, unattainable beauty made the noble young masters itch with desire, wishing they could conquer her quickly and enjoy this soul-stirring beauty.
Especially the Earth Sect's Great Young Master.
On the surface, perhaps nothing showed. His expression remained stern.
But Mo Hua could sense that when Yu Nujiao appeared, this Great Young Master's desire surged like a demonic flood dragon churning seas.
On his body, the black-purple poppies wriggled like rotting flesh, emanating the power of lust...
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
And in the next moment, a graceful singing voice rose. When Mo Hua turned to look again, Yu Nujiao, the Flower Queen, had already begun to dance in the hall, swaying her waist.
This was the centerpiece of the Flower Queen Banquet.
Yu Nujiao was the adored Flower Queen and the Union Holy Maiden, so naturally her dancing was extraordinary.
Her fair, jade-white feet stepped on the bright flower carpet, each step seeming to land on the hearts of the crowd.
Her clothes were luxurious, her expression dignified, and in her soft and seductive bearing was a solemn air that forbade violation.
This contrast made people even more unable to resist.
Together with her innate, naturally enchanting bone structure and the seduction techniques emitted from cultivating the Union Sect's arts since childhood, the two interwove into a peerless seductress.
Seeing this, all the men in the hall were filled with greedy lust. Only by clenching their jaws could they suppress the fire of desire and keep from making ugly spectacles of themselves.
The Earth Sect's Great Young Master, watching Yu Nujiao's bright figure, felt his wicked desires surge violently. Even his eyes were tinged with a black-purple evil flame.
In the entire Spring Character Pavilion hall, beneath the splendid surface of Spring, Flower, Snow, and Moon, human desire was like a source of rot, filling every corner and tainting every heart.
Mo Hua turned to look at Bai Xiaosheng and found him staring at Yu Nujiao with fascination.
Mo Hua was about to slap him awake, but when he looked closely, he saw that Bai Xiaosheng's eyes were actually clear.
There was only appreciation in his gaze, not a trace of lust. It was as if he were purely admiring beauty and the superb dancing, with no greed in his heart.
Mo Hua's gaze showed a hint of surprise.
After a long while—or perhaps not so long—the song ended and the flowers all fell.
Yu Nujiao's dance as Flower Queen was over.
The crowd still seemed immersed in that beautiful, soul-stirring sight, unable to extricate themselves for a long time. They only wished Yu Nujiao would keep dancing, so they could forever remain in this dreamlike beauty, enjoying the taming of their desires, never waking.
But Yu Nujiao did not dance again.
Her figure was graceful and straight, her face fair, as majestic as a plum branch covered in snow. She merely cast a noble, slightly cold glance at the crowd, then her figure suddenly turned into a flurry of petals and vanished.
This enchanting figure suddenly disappeared.
The crowd felt a pang in their hearts, as if a piece of flesh had been cut away. Their desires still unsatisfied, they frowned and felt discontent.
At that moment, another beautiful woman slowly walked up to the stage—it was Miao Niangzi.
Zhu Family's Second Young Master, dressed in a vermilion qilin robe, asked in a deep voice, "Where is Lady Yu? Why did she dance only one piece today?"
Miao Niangzi bent her knees in salute, then said with an apologetic expression:
"Forgive me, young masters. Lady Yu is unwell today and can only dance this one piece. I sincerely apologize."
At these words, all the young masters showed displeasure.
Even the Earth Sect's Great Young Master looked gloomy, radiating a silent imposing might.
These legitimate young masters were all high in status and precious in time.
Since the Flower Queen Banquet had been held, how could there be only one dance and then no sight of her?
Miao Niangzi feared arousing public anger, so she hurriedly said, "However, Lady Yu said..."
Her face held a smile and her voice was soft and gentle as she continued:
"Though she is slightly unwell and cannot dance for the young masters, she can choose one young master to enter her private chamber to play the qin and discuss the Dao."
At these words, everyone's expressions changed drastically and an uproar broke out.
For so long, these noble young masters had been waiting for this opportunity.
This Lady Yu Nujiao was like a delicate flower stamen on a high branch—gorgeous and tempting, but only to be looked at, not touched, making one's heart itch endlessly.
The rules of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion had blocked them, and they could not breach propriety.
Unexpectedly, now this rule was finally about to break. Though it was only playing the qin and discussing the Dao, where there was a first, there would be a second.
Today one could play the qin; tomorrow one could watch her dance; and eventually, one would drag this unattainable beauty down from her high pedestal and do as one pleased.
Jin Family's legitimate young master immediately asked, "How will she choose?"
Miao Niangzi said, "By fate."
Zhu Family's Second Young Master frowned. "What fate?"
Miao Niangzi said, "Each young master may offer a gift. I will pass it to Lady Yu, and she herself will choose. The one she chooses is the one fated, and may enter her chamber for a chat."
Hearing this, Zhu Family's Second Young Master's gaze darkened and thoughts churned. Then he nodded.
"That works too..."
The others, seeing this, also wore flickering expressions, each with their own hidden thoughts, and did not object.
This was indeed considered the most "fair" method.
A lovely lady, gentlemen seek.
If it were about power, the most outstanding people present were naturally the Earth Sect's Great Young Master and the legitimate young masters of the four great families.
But this place of romance was not based on power alone.
Since it was courtship, it had to be about love between man and woman, depending on Lady Yu's own will.
Making a woman like you was also a skill.
Under the current rules, as long as the gift offered suited Lady Yu's heart and could win a smile from the beauty, anyone could become the one invited behind the curtain.
These young masters were not short of women, but they were short of the favor of such an unattainable peerless beauty as the Flower Queen, as well as the enormous vanity of "monopolizing the Flower Queen."
These four words—"monopolizing the Flower Queen"—were the dream of nearly every young master in Houtu City, enough to boast about for a lifetime.
Since the opportunity was here, they naturally would not be soft.
Miao Niangzi gently clapped her hands, and two rows of pretty maids each carried golden- and jade-inlaid mandarin duck trays to each seat.
If one wished to win the Flower Queen's favor, one could place a gift on the mandarin duck tray, and the rest was up to fate.
No one could refuse this.
Even if the competitors included the Earth Sect's Great Young Master and the legitimate young masters of Kun Prefecture's four great families, they would not back down.
At ordinary times, their minds might be clear, knowing they could not let beauty cause mistakes.
But at this moment, having seen the Flower Queen with their own eyes, her beauty that toppled cities, and her celestial dancing, only one thought remained in their minds:
A peony under the flower, dying is romantic too.
If they could play the qin and discuss the Dao with the Flower Queen, and have close contact with her, they felt that even death would be worth it.
Therefore, each noble young master placed the most precious thing they could offer onto the mandarin duck trays.
There were moon-soul spirit jade, green snow hairpins, emerald silk satin, star-stone pearl hairpins... all sorts of rare treasures vying in splendor, a blaze of radiance.
And the legitimate young masters of the four great families made moves beyond the ordinary.
Zhu Family's Second Young Master offered a red silk cloud-gauze fan.
Jin Family's legitimate young master offered a moon-flower glaze mirror.
Lu Family's legitimate young master offered a jade-ice cicada-silk robe.
Wu Family's legitimate young master offered a box of celestial fragrance qiong-flower rouge.
The crowd of young masters maintained their refinement on the surface, not showing off, but in secret they competed fiercely, each gift more exquisite and luxurious than the last.
If one's item was inferior and could not be shown on stage, it would be obvious in comparison.
Those who knew they were outclassed felt defeated and dejected, their eyes filled with inferiority and shame.
The one who dominated the entire hall was the Earth Sect's Great Young Master.
He said not a word, only silently took out a piece of jade and tossed it onto the mandarin duck tray, causing every young master in the hall to have their pupils violently constrict.
Because that piece of jade was colored in five hues, crystal clear, yet within it were condensed threads of law slowly drifting...
This was actually... an innate spirit crystal!
And not an ordinary one—it was a celestial crystal containing the laws of the five elements!
All the young masters secretly sucked in a cold breath.
The Earth Sect's Great Young Master was willing to spend so lavishly for Yu Nujiao, even taking out such a rare celestial crystal to win a smile from the beauty.
Even the legitimate young masters of the four great families wore ugly expressions.
Mo Hua, looking at that celestial crystal, was also momentarily dazed.
By now, almost all the young masters had given their gifts. The only one who had not acted was Mo Hua.
Though no one said anything, everyone's gaze faintly turned toward this Young Master Mo.
Even Miao Niangzi was watching Mo Hua from the stage, curious about what he would offer.
Bai Xiaosheng, acting as Mo Hua's "attendant," was also muttering inwardly.
This Mo Hua probably isn't all that wealthy, but since he joined the Flower Queen Banquet, he should at least have some treasure in hand, right? Don't embarrass himself.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Mo Hua had no choice but to give. After thinking it over, he casually fished out a blue glowing stone from his pocket and tossed it onto the mandarin duck tray.
Another piece of jade?
Everyone was startled at first, but when they looked carefully at the stone, their expressions changed violently.
Because this blue glowing stone was actually... a spirit stone!
This Young Master Mo had given a spirit stone as a gift to the Flower Queen...
Not to mention the others, even Bai Xiaosheng, who was familiar with Mo Hua, sucked in a cold breath, hardly daring to believe it.
This kid... was too arrogant, right?
This was the Flower Queen Banquet! The top young masters of Kun Prefecture's noble families were all competing with rare treasures, and you offer a spirit stone? Who exactly are you looking down on?
With such arrogance, who did you learn it from?