"Master, did you assign Brother Arden some kind of… secret mission?"
"A secret mission?"
Ju Fufu's question only left Yixuan even more confused. "No, I didn't."
She set down the teacup in her hand and shook her head.
"Even if I had a task, I'd have you two go together."
"So, what exactly is going on?"
As she spoke, Yixuan performed a divination. The result only added more confusion on top of her concern.
"Master, actually… these past few days, Brother Arden has been acting a little strange."
Ju Fufu began explaining Arden's recent abnormalities. "He goes out early every morning and doesn't take me with him. When I ask, he just brushes me off with excuses like 'a commission that's inconvenient for girls to participate in.'"
"And also…"
At this point, Ju Fufu suddenly lowered her voice, becoming mysterious.
She leaned close to Yixuan's ear and whispered softly, "Every time Brother Arden comes back, it's really late, and he smells like another woman's perfume."
"….."
Hearing this, Yixuan's brows twisted into a deep frown.
"Could it be… Miss Sweety?"
If one were to talk about women Arden interacted with frequently, aside from Ju Fufu and herself, there was only Sweety, the proprietress of Yum Cha Sin.
For one thing, Sweety was well-informed and worked as a commission broker. For another, she was Arden's regular client for massages, bone-setting, and cupping therapy—he'd go provide services every few days.
"I can be certain—it's not Miss Sweety."
However, Ju Fufu gave a firm denial.
Master Yixuan carried the scent of sandalwood, while Miss Sweety smelled of flowers, tea, and pastries. But the scent Arden brought back was different—it was clearly perfume.
Ju Fufu didn't buy perfume when shopping, nor did she need it, but she had tried samples before. With her Thiren senses, she could tell the difference easily.
"Master, do you think… Brother Arden might have a woman outside?"
Ju Fufu's words were filled with worry.
"….."
Yixuan fell silent.
Logically speaking, even as a master, she shouldn't interfere too much in her disciple's private life. But after hearing Ju Fufu say this, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable—along with a sudden urge to drag Arden back to Yunkui Summit and interrogate him thoroughly.
"How about… we follow him and check things out? Brother Arden just left. If we head down the mountain now, we can still catch up."
"Alright!"
Yixuan agreed without a second thought.
She had heard that while at Meffer Mine, Arden had squeezed a large sum of denny out of Porcelumex's person in charge.
Rich men were easily targeted by bad women, and as his master, Yixuan felt it was her responsibility to guide Arden—to warn him not to be deceived by gold-diggers and end up losing both money and himself.
…..
Waifei Peninsula.
Ju Fufu and Yixuan followed Arden all the way to the street outside Yum Cha Sin.
"Yum Cha Sin… hasn't he been coming here a bit too often lately?"
Hiding in a small alley, Ju Fufu watched as Sweety, smiling warmly, invited Arden into the inner hall, and worry suddenly crept into her heart.
Using massages as a pretext to do something indescribable wasn't impossible.
"Maybe… Sweety is just extremely busy and physically exhausted, so Arden comes often to help?" Yixuan guessed, also hiding in the alley.
At this moment, Master Yixuan was bent forward, her head peeking out of the alley as she watched Yum Cha Sin, her brows slightly knit.
And to ease the strain of this posture, the generous fullness on Yixuan's chest pressed directly onto the top of Ju Fufu's head.
"….."
Feeling the warmth, softness, and weight on her head, Ju Fufu's eyelid twitched violently.
If only I were that big…
Ju Fufu imagined herself with a pair of massive watermelons… alright, she couldn't imagine it at all.
"Mm… that could be it."
After thinking over Yixuan's guess, Ju Fufu nodded in agreement. "I heard Brother Arden say that the Lemnian Hollow has been very active lately, and Waifei Peninsula has become unstable as a result."
"Then there's nothing to worry about."
Yixuan nodded to herself reassuringly.
It seemed that master and disciple had both fallen into a state of self-justification, desperately afraid that Arden really did have another woman outside.
…..
They waited all the way until noon before Arden finally came out of Yum Cha Sin.
Haa…
Seeing Sweety escort Arden out—with clear cupping marks visible on the exposed part of her back beneath the qipao—Ju Fufu let out a huge sigh of relief.
"So, it really was just massage and cupping."
Yixuan felt the same way.
However, after finishing his service for Sweety, Arden showed no intention of returning to Yunkui Summit. Instead, he met another woman in a park.
A very beautiful woman, with an excellent figure—long fair legs and a generous chest.
Although she still fell short compared to Yixuan, that woman dressed quite revealingly, her charm and allure turned all the way up.
"Maybe she's… a commission client?"
"Probably."
Ju Fufu and Yixuan continued justifying things to themselves.
Then Arden and the woman started shopping together.
"Master, accompanying a client shopping to build rapport is normal, right?"
"Normal. Completely normal."
After shopping, Arden and the woman entered a movie theater.
"Mm… after shopping, getting tired and finding a place to rest—no big issue, no big issue!"
"No big issue at all!"
After leaving the theater, Arden and the woman went into a restaurant.
"When people are hungry, they have to eat."
"That's right. Food is the staff of life—skip one meal and you starve."
Ju Fufu and Yixuan kept making excuses for Arden—until he and the woman entered a couples hotel. At that point, there was no way to justify it anymore.
"Despicable! Arden, have you forgotten the vows you once made?!"
"Fufu!"
Yixuan grabbed Ju Fufu, whose mind was completely overtaken by rage.
"Master, don't stop me! I—I'm going to beat that woman to death!"
"Calm down!"
Though she said "calm down," Yixuan narrowed her eyes at the couples hotel, flames seemingly burning fiercely within them. "I'll go with you!"
...
"!!"
The hotel front desk watched as Ju Fufu and Yixuan barged in. They neither stopped them nor said much.
Judging by the scene, it was yet another case of a cheating husband being caught red-handed by his wife—nothing new to the front desk.
"Wife and daughter together?"
Mistaking Yixuan and Ju Fufu for mother and daughter, the clerk sighed with some emotion. "With such a beautiful, big-chested wife at home, he still goes looking for women outside? What kind of man is that… honestly!"
"Master, this way!"
There was no need to ask which room Arden had booked. Ju Fufu could follow his scent straight to him.
"Ahhh!!! Oh~~!!"
Even standing outside the door, Ju Fufu and Yixuan could hear a woman's wailing cries from inside.
Bang~!
Ju Fufu kicked the door open without the slightest hesitation.
"!!"
"!?"
The moment they saw the scene inside, both Ju Fufu and Yixuan froze.
The alluring woman was tightly bound and hanging from the ceiling, while Arden stood opposite her, a leather whip in his hand, mid-swing.
Pa~!
The whip left a red welt on exposed skin. Judging by the number of marks on the woman's arms, thighs, and back, she had been whipped for quite some time already.
"Are you going to talk or not?!"
At the same time, Arden barked out a harsh interrogation.
"Brother Arden, you actually have this kind of fetish?!"
Ju Fufu covered her face with both hands, unable to look—but the gaps between her fingers betrayed her true curiosity.
"Arden, your mental cultivation really needs more training. Haah~~!"
Yixuan also let out a deep sigh.
"Fufu? Master? Uh… why are you here?!"
Hearing the commotion, Arden turned around. Upon seeing Ju Fufu and Yixuan, he was completely dumbfounded.
He was in the middle of an interrogation—how did Ju Fufu and Yixuan suddenly show up?
"Don't misunderstand, it's not what you think, I'm not—"
For a moment, Arden didn't even know how to explain himself.
"That's enough. What is really going on here?"
Yixuan could tell by now that Arden wasn't keeping another woman—there was clearly something else behind this.
Phew… thank goodness, thank goodness!
The weight hanging in her heart finally lifted, and Yixuan let out a huge sigh of relief inwardly.