"I don't know the specifics, that's their private matter." Mudan shook her head. What she knew was limited to this; she didn't know anything else.

"When you have time recently, help me pay attention to matters in this area. I'm going to rest first. I played a bit hard yesterday and haven't slept until now." Xiaoyao yawned, his eyes showing a trace of fatigue. Originally he had wanted to rest, and if Mudan hadn't pulled him aside to discuss this matter, he would have started sleeping long ago.

"Where did the young master go to have fun last night, playing all night? Isn't our Yihong Courtyard fun enough?" Mudan said with displeasure. Her place was a man's paradise, yet Xiaoyao had played all night elsewhere, which she found somewhat unacceptable.

If Xiaoyao had gone to a brothel of similar nature, she would have been even more depressed. Fortunately, it wasn't like that.

"What's fun here? I'm not the Young Miss. Last night I played all night at Ruyi Gambling House." Xiaoyao replied casually.

Who was the Young Miss? Mudan was somewhat puzzled. Logically, Young Miss should refer to a woman, and what woman would be interested in playing at their place? Only wives coming to catch cheating husbands and cause trouble, this happened every day.

Mudan didn't pay much attention to this. What she cared about was that Xiaoyao was actually interested in going to gambling houses, this hobby wasn't good.

"Young master, it's best not to frequent gambling houses. I've seen too many gamblers end up with broken families." Mudan frowned. She seemed to dislike gambling.

...

Actually, anyone who understood Mudan would know that the reason she was at Yihong Courtyard was because of gambling. She had been gambled away by her father, who sold her to Yihong Courtyard. Originally a girl with dreams, a talented girl who could have found a good husband and lived happily ever after, at that moment her fate took a sharp turn for the worse.

Everything she was proud of became others' plaything to trample upon. Her life was already ruined, even if there was a chance to repair it, it could never be restored to its original state.

In this gambling city of Silver Heart, tragedies like hers were enacted daily, yet there were still many people continuing to gamble, gambling recklessly.

"I was just playing around. Yesterday I only had one copper coin on me. If I lost, I wouldn't play. Didn't expect to win a bit, and since it was winnings, I continued playing..." Xiaoyao said casually.

"Ah, one copper coin? Didn't you have quite a bit of silver when you went out?" Mudan remembered that yesterday Xiaoyao had collected considerable tuition from the sisters. How did he only have one copper coin left after going out?

"Young master, are you lying to me? Did you lose everything and are just saying this?"

"I won. I'm not lying to you either. Yesterday I went to buy some materials and spent all the silver. Anyway, I'm staying here for ten or so days, and you're covering food and lodging." Xiaoyao said with a smile. He was quite straightforward and didn't fear being called kept by Mudan.

"Naturally, it's just some food. Yihong Courtyard has plenty. Young master, what materials did you buy that cost so much silver?" Mudan nodded and asked.

"Some medicinal herbs, some forging materials, and some fabric." Xiaoyao replied.

"Medicinal herbs, forging materials, fabric?" Mudan was confused by this combination.

"Time to sleep. Where's my room?" Xiaoyao asked.

"Naturally in my room." Mudan looked at Xiaoyao, having cast aside all her previous doubts and just stared at Xiaoyao flirtatiously.

"I need a guest room." Xiaoyao ignored Mudan's seduction and said.

"Hehe, I've already prepared one for young master, in the back courtyard. The environment is elegant, used for receiving distinguished guests." Mudan said with a smile. Earlier was just joking.

"Then hurry up and take me there, or master won't pay." Xiaoyao said irritably.

"Young master never paid anyway. How about young master sleep with me and I'll pay." Mudan said with wide eyes.

"...Can't you be a bit more reserved?" Xiaoyao couldn't handle this Mudan anymore. These words were too explicit.

Mudan smiled self-mockingly and said, "Someone like me no longer knows what reserve is. If young master likes, find me anytime, I'll definitely serve you comfortably."

"Forget it. I'll introduce you to a customer later, she'll definitely like you." Xiaoyao said.

"Thank you, young master." Mudan smiled without saying more and led Xiaoyao to rest in the back courtyard.

Around two or three in the afternoon, Xiaoyao woke up feeling indescribably comfortable. Indeed, sleeping while cultivating was most comfortable. Divine Farmer True Qi had circulated several major cycles during sleep, making Xiaoyao's whole body feel refreshed and energetic.

Even after staying up all night, five or six hours of sleep could restore him to full condition.

"Young master, you're awake. Please wash your face."

Just as Xiaoyao got up and came out, he found Mudan waiting by the door with washing water and "breakfast" prepared.

"Mudan, I find you seem quite idle." Xiaoyao didn't refuse, washing his face while speaking.

"Not at all. I've finished my work and am now waiting for young master to teach me qin." Mudan said with a smile.

Xiaoyao ate while saying, "Go prepare the qin and sheet music you want to practice. I'll teach you after eating." Since Mudan had completed the task, naturally he should fulfill his promise.

First teach Mudan qin for ten days, then go to the Luo family in Flowing Stone Kingdom to investigate. Actually, it was basically confirmed now, his parents should be the Luo Yuntian couple. From various signs, they were the man and woman who appeared on Divine Martial Continent.

At the same time, the bloodline flowing in him should be Luo family bloodline, because the Luo family very likely were the ancestors of the Demon Cult. The timing and achievements all matched very well. He just needed to see the Luo family's cultivation methods and martial techniques to understand everything.

"This piece..." Xiaoyao began teaching Mudan qin. After starting, many people gathered in the courtyard. Besides Mudan, some brothel courtesans who loved qin also came over.

Yesterday's teaching session had benefited them greatly. Naturally they wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

This continued until evening, when Xiaoyao ended with the reason that work hours were over. He always had a good sense of time, no working after hours unless for himself or with extra pay.

In the current situation, he taught Mudan qin without collecting money, so he would only teach for that amount of time each day.

Also, even if Xiaoyao continued teaching, Mudan and the others couldn't absorb it all at once. They needed time to comprehend, and this timing was just right, more wouldn't be very effective.

After evening, Xiaoyao went to the gambling house again. Yesterday he hadn't finished everything, there were many activities he hadn't experienced. Today he would continue. As for mahjong and such that he'd played yesterday, he wouldn't play again, even if invited.

Tonight he returned by midnight without staying up all night. The next day he planned to continue teaching Mudan and couldn't be late, he had to start on time. He wouldn't teach more or less time.

This day, Mudan found it became difficult. It wasn't as easy as yesterday, sometimes it took half a day to understand something. This wasn't just increased difficulty but also because Xiaoyao had more time, which was why too much time wasn't suitable.

When Xiaoyao saw Mudan reach her limit, he stopped teaching and would cultivate on the side while waiting for her to absorb before starting something new.

Initially, Xiaoyao was just resting undisturbed, but later people discovered Xiaoyao was "idle" and came to ask him about other things. At first it was zheng, qin and zheng were quite similar.

So they were amazed to discover that Xiaoyao was also very proficient. Then someone tried asking about xiao, and the result was the same, Xiaoyao was equally proficient. Then it became unstoppable. Originally only brothel courtesans who loved qin came, but later it was everyone, because they discovered Xiaoyao knew almost everything and was excellent at everything.

Xiaoyao didn't mind this. Anyway, he only taught them while teaching Mudan qin. Beyond ensuring Mudan's progress, he could teach them, but teaching them required some tuition, one tael per person. However, once he collected once, he wouldn't collect again, he didn't charge money every time he taught.

After this discovery, Xiaoyao became a legendary figure at Yihong Courtyard. Whether coming for instruction or not, everyone curiously came to look, making Yihong Courtyard's business somewhat chaotic.

But what they found strange was that their boss never appeared. Usually at this time, the boss should have objections. Even though they were normally quite free, when everyone was free together, that was problematic.

Maybe the boss was busy, these days there was his favorite program, so he should be preparing for that.

Because the boss didn't appear, Yihong Courtyard became more chaotic, often making customers wait on the side without courtesans coming to drink with them. Recently some people said Yihong Courtyard had changed into a restaurant, how come there were no girls?

But they didn't know that all this was because of one man, this man had made all the courtesans of Yihong Courtyard go crazy.

Xiaoyao didn't know what kind of chaos he had caused. Anyway, Yihong Courtyard wasn't his, who cared? Whether business was good or bad wasn't his concern. Who told brother to be so popular? This couldn't be helped.

Among these chaotic matters, what Xiaoyao found somewhat unexpected was Dujuan. She actually had good painting skills, with quite good technique, and also came to consult him. They discussed some things, not really teaching.

Now Xiaoyao had been defined as a great talent, a true great talent, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Moreover, this proficiency was unfathomably deep, making others unable to catch up.

(To be continued)