The Hazards of Being Too Handsome

 Chapter 2

Feeling the surging internal energy within his body and with his almost fully recovered physique, He Yunxiao sincerely believed that this Soul-Devouring Pill was a divine-grade elixir. If it didn't involve life expectancy, it would be considered divine among divines.

This kind of divine-grade elixir, which repairs the body and greatly increases internal energy, doesn't exist in the normal world. It only appears in the martial arts world of the novel "Girl, I Just Want to Cultivate."

In this martial arts world , specifically, martial artists are very strong, to the point of being somewhat exaggerated but not too unrealistic, and items like elixirs are also strong but not too over the top.

In this world , you won't find situations where a single strike cuts a mountain in half, nor will you find elixirs that turn living people into immortal. Therefore, this Soul-Devouring Pill, which trades life expectancy for current power, is almost the top-grade elixir in this world.

As for the limit of a person martial arts, He Yunxiao remembers that the author mentioned the founding general of the Qi Kingdom, Zhang Xian.

He was his generation's sword god, undoubtedly the number one in the world three hundred years ago. His famed battle, where he alone with one sword defeated six thousand armored soldiers, which was as well his final battle. This battle also determined the limit of personal martial power this world has seen.

And he just didn't defeat ordinary soldiers, but the elite heavy armored of the northern Great Nation of Yan. In the novel setting, the strength of the vast majority of martial artists in the world is divided into nine grades, with the first grade being the weakest and the ninth grade being the strongest.

Above the ninth grade, there is also the realm of grandmaster, which requires talent and opportunity and is beyond the reach of ordinary people. As for the number one in the world, the realm is estimated to be above the grandmaster.

The medicinal power of the Soul-Devouring Pill didn't cause physical problems for very long. About half a moment later, He Yunxiao's increased internal energy stabilized. He stood up and moved his body, practicing a few moves, vaguely feeling that he had reached the threshold of the ninth grade.

An eight-grade peak martial artist at the age of twenty, he could be called a martial arts prodigy!

You should know that as the eldest son of Wucheng Hou*, He Yunxiao, who achieved to become a seventh-grade martial artist on his own, was already outstanding among his peers. Now, at the peak of the eighth grade, he could completely compete for a place on the Qingyun List of the Fengting Tower, which symbolizes martial arts prowess.

[T/N-"Wucheng Hou" (武庆候) can be translated as Noble-Man From military background, It refers to a noble title in traditional Chinese society, indicating a high-ranking position associated with military excellence or achievements.]

But He Yunxiao currently didn't have the mindset to ponder this. He was only considering one thing now, and that was how to survive.

According to Chu Xiaoxiao's personality, useless people who can't get things done have no value. If I couldn't get Du Huakui away from Chu Fan today, I'm afraid I won't live to see tomorrow morning.

He Yunxiao recalled the plot of the novel, trying to find the point where Du Huakui was moved by the protagonist Chu Fan.

In the original novel, Du Huakui's original name was Du Yinyun, and she was the daughter of Du Lie, the deputy general of Chu Tianzhu, Chu Fan's father. Du Lie was unwilling to accept Chu Tianzhu's tragic death and had been secretly searching for clues. However, two years ago, he was suddenly executed for treason, and the entire Du family, including all male members, was executed, while the female members were sent to the brothel.

Due to her outstanding appearance and proficiency in music, Du Yinyun was bought by the owner of the Chunfeng Tower and proceed to became a flagship* courtesan of the establishment. Du Yinyun was hidden by the Chunfeng Tower for a year, and recently, she was released into the public eye, preparing to meet clients.

[T/N- I didn't no what would best for the translations, the original word literaly meant top-tier, but in use it was sounded like there were noone better than her so I decided to use 'flagship' like phone brands]

The protagonist, Chu Fan, came to her specifically to inquire about the massacre that occurred years ago on the day of Du Yinyun's debut. In the book, Chu Fan is portrayed as someone who is fiercely hate Evil, decisive, calm, and not good at conversation. Just as the title of the book "Girl, I Just Want to Cultivate" suggests, Chu Fan is single-mindedly focused on the path of the sword and is very "devoted" in his chosen live of vengeance, caring atmost exclusively only about his sister Chu Xiaoxiao's opinion.

Towards many female characters who actively approach him, Chu Fan, while not opposed, always acts indifferent. Not just ordinary indifference, but the kind where a touch of skin would cause the person to drop dead on the spot, that level of indifference.

So much so that in the original novel of two hundred thousand words, Chu Fan's romantic pursuit is extremely slow, to the point that he hasn't even touched the hands of the main female characters.

If it weren't for the female leads being too good to give up, He Yunxiao wouldn't have bothered to continue reading.

With this in mind, He Yunxiao suddenly realized.

Bingo! Many of the plotlines in the book involve interactions between Chu Fan and Du Huakai, with him treating Du Huakui, who has approached him, with indifference or somewhat with disdain.

Damn.

Could it be that she has the "dog-licking" attribute of seeking affection from someone who's cold? This is ridiculous!

No wonder it's called "Girl, I Just Want to Cultivate."

With this speculation, although He Yunxiao couldn't be a hundred percent certain, he had about eighty percent confidence. Now, all he needed to do was to use the favorability system to observe Du Huakui's personality, and with that he can be pretty much certain.

Using his light-step skills, He Yunxiao stepped on the tiles of the eaves and climbed onto the side building of the Chunfeng Tower.

The Chunfeng Tower was one of the most famous brothels in the capital city of Daqi. The main building occupied a large area, with a main building in front and two slightly shorter side buildings behind. The three buildings formed a character shape, connected by wooden bridges.

Only the girls in the main building engaged in more intimate transactions, while the girls in the two side buildings provided more high-end one-on-one premium services.

[T/N- Main buliding is and two side buliding forms a shape of "V" . They inter-connected with birdges , Main is for s€* and side buildings are for people with slightly Higher taste, you know......more like a Cabaret and one on one and if the women agree only then then go to s€x part]

The girls in the side buildings generally sold their skills rather than their bodies.

He Yunxiao's purpose in this visit was to meet Jiang Wuyou, which was essentially the same as others and he too was same as other customers. However, He Yunxiao, disregarding conventions, because of his exceptional good looks, has led to a mutual attraction between the two.

The situation is roughly this: He Yunxiao intends to give money to Jiang Wuyou to sleep with her, but Jiang Wuyou not only refuses it but also offers money to He Yunxiao for his services. The original owner was also a person of temperament, although lecherous, not greedy for money, and as the eldest son of the Wu Qinghou, being given money by a courtesan is something he can't let pass off.

Jiang Wuyou's original words: "I, Jiang Wuyou, sell my skills, not my body. Either accept my silver or get lost." But now He Yunxiao is no longer the same as before.

Now he has made great progress, not only lecherous but also greedy. A beauty like Jiang Wuyou who is willing to give money would have been a sugar mommy in his past life.

Gotta seize this opportunity!

[T/N -This part was confusing even for me so let me give you a brief explanation of what I understood " Wuyou is a high-End courtesan of side bulidings , OG yunxiao wants to sleep with her so he offered her Money, but wuoyo refused stating she won't sell her body instead offer yunxiao to sell his body to her and she will give him money, yunxiao being noble can't accept that offerr and wouyo Loving face yunxiao can't exactly disregard yunxiao so they are in the deadlock , but our current protagonist decided to take the money ]

After arriving at Jiang Wuyou's door, He Yunxiao, to maintain his former arrogant demeanor, didn't bother knocking, but pushed the door open and walked in. Then he casually sat down at the table in the living room, grabbed some snacks, and stuffed them into his mouth.

A maid came out of the inner room, saw He Yunxiao, and informed her mistress before leaving with red hue in her face* .

[T/N - she blushed seeing He Yunxiao, remember he is extremely beautiful]

Of course, all the way out, her eyes never left He Yundressed in moon-white sleeping attire, came out. Her hair was disheveled, as if she had just woken up. There was no makeup on her face, but she excluded a natural lazy beauty* and nobility.

[T/N- don't ask me what kind of beauty is that]

[(Name: Jiang Wuyou

Relationship: Intimate companion 

Specialty: Dance and music

Personality: Generous, gentle

Favorability: 70

Romance Difficulty: Easy

Success Reward: Poison resistance increase]

Instead of sitting down first, she walked around and touched He Yunxiao's face before sitting beside him. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she poured herself a cup of tea and played with it. Then, with her slender phoenix eyes half-closed, she looked at He Yunxiao with a half-smile.

"Miss me?" 

He Yunxiao couldn't help but wonder.

This Jiang Wouyo is really a top-notch Beauty! Are all the beauties in this martial world so stunningly beautiful? They would have been able to sweep the floor with top celebrities in my past life!

But enough of that, He Yunxiao dared not delay the matter at hand. He got straight to the point: "Hey, sis, I don't want to work hard anymore, give me some money."

Jiang Wuyou almost sprayed tea from her mouth and ask "Have you thought it through?"

"Yeah, I have. Give it to me."

Jiang Wuyou looked at He Yunxiao with suspicion. He grinned, "Nothing escapes you, sis."

Jiang Wuyou snorted coquettishly. "I'm not stupid."

"I want to ask two things from my sister!"

Reaching out and tapping the tip of He Yunxiao's nose, Jiang Wuyou turned away and rolled her eyes.

"I knew you, a bad boy like you, would have no good intentions. Tell me what you want."

"First, take me to see Du Huakui now."

"You little lecher."

He Yunxiao chuckled "Just in front table of my sis."

"Fine. What's the second thing?"

"After seeing Du Huakui, then I'll tell you."

Although Jiang Wuyou was puzzled, she complied. She changed into a new outfit, took an umbrella, and led He Yunxiao to find Du Yinyun.

Du Yinyun lived in another side building, and they could only go there by crossing the wooden bridge in the connecting the Mansions.

"Hold the umbrella lower," Jiang Wuyou said before crossing the wooden bridge.

He Yunxiao nodded and obeyed. 

In the night, high up in the building, the cold wind blew. However, as soon as they stepped onto the wooden bridge, the cold wind disappeared without a trace. Jiang Wuyou looked at the seemingly invisible internal energy barrier around her body and felt somewhat moved.

' I asked you to hold the umbrella to cover your face, not because it's cold. After years of martial arts practice, is internal energy for this purpose?' She thought to herself

 "Silly kid"

[Jiang Wuyou's favorability reaches 80, successfully wooed, and receives the reward "Increase in poison resistance"]

He Yunxiao was full of question marks. "I didn't do anything, how did I succeed?" But he didn't dwell on it much, considering it as a reward picked up along the way.

'Why think too much? Isn't freeloading the way of life !?!'

After crossing the bridge, Jiang Wuyou said, "you stand here, i'll go take du yinyun out. can you take a look from afar?"

he yunxiao nodded repeatedly.

Jiang wuyou didn't ask any more questions and went to knock on du huakui's door alone.

He yunxiao stood not too far from du huakui's room and watched as miss Jiang was invited into the house, and in a short while, she led a soft and weak girl out to look at the moon.

The system immediately gave feedback.

[Name: Du Yinyun

Relationship: stranger

Specialties: music

Personality: withdrawn, aloof, low self-esteem (lack of fatherly love) low self-esteem in intimate relationships

Favorability: 30

Concur Difficulty: medium

success reward: luck enhancement]

Looking at the systematic evaluation of Du Yinyun's character, He Yunxiao expressed his understanding.

She is also a good girl, but please don't go after the protagonist. Loving the protagonist will only kill you.

Jiang Wuyou stayed with Du Huakui for a while, then sent her back and met up with He Yunxiao.

"Tell me, what's the one more thing?"

He Yunxiao smiled after confirming Du Huakui's "dog-licking" attribute.

"The process of the Chunfeng Tower Oiran*'s debut usually includes a banquet, a martial arts competition, and the fall of the flowers respectively. The Oiran make three appearances in total, and each time the duration gets longer. Now that's the time for the banquet has almost passed only 2 times left and when Du Yinyun will go to make appearances for the next two times, I want to ask my sister to steal her limelight.”

Jiang Wuyou said in surprise: "Today is her first show, how can compete & I win against her?"

He Yunxiao patted his chest and said, "I will definitely make my sister shine the brightest.

~~~Ending~~~