Chapter 16: Rising to Fame
Yu Bai looked at Qin Yun and said seriously, "Money alone is probably nothing to Brother Qin Yun. I only have some literary talent that is of any use! I heard that Lady Chen Shuang's relationship with Brother Qin Yun is extraordinary. I am willing to do my best to help Lady Chen Shuang."
"Can you make her famous throughout the world?" Qin Yun poured himself a cup of wine and drank it as he casually asked.
"That I cannot do. However, I'm confident I can make her famous throughout the Jiang Prefecture," said Yu Bai.
"Can you make her Courtesan Belle in the upcoming Courtesan Belle selection for Grand Dominance County?" asked Qin Yun again.
Yu Bai shook his head. "There's too little time. The selection is in a month's time! To grow in fame, it needs a period a time for it to brew… Furthermore, for the selection of Courtesan Belle, there are other processes at work behind the scenes. I can only guarantee that she will enter top ten this year, with a chance for top three. By next year, Lady Chen Shuang will be the most famous courtesan of Grand Dominance County!"
"And I will use my literary talent and my reputation to spread her fame." Yu Bai continued, "Only then will her fame be lasting. Those that forcefully become Courtesan Belle by working the forces behind the scenes will only be resented by others."
"How will you make Xiao Shuang famous throughout Jiang Prefecture? Tell me in detail," said Qin Yun.
Yu Bai's eyes lit up. There was hope!
"I have been to brothels half my life. I understand how such things work very well." Yu Bai began explaining his plan.
Qin Yun's eyes gradually lit up as he listened to him.
"It looks like you are really willing to go all out so that your youngest son can enter a cultivation sect," said Qin Yun with a laugh after hearing the entire plan.
"When should I go all out if not now? Since I still have the strength, I should pave the way for them," said Yu Bai.
"Alright, you help Xiao Shuang, and I'll help you."
Qin Yun nodded. "Prepare some brushes and ink."
Yu Bai was delighted when he heard that.
Soon, Qin Yun finished writing a letter.
"Send your youngest son to Jiang Prefecture's Southbright County's East Mountain Vista, and seek an audience with Daoist Goldshine using my letter," said Qin Yun. "Remember, bring a thousand taels of silver as a gift to honor his new master. After seeing my letter, Daoist Goldshine will understand."
"Yes, yes. Perfect." Yu Bai was overjoyed. "How can a thousand taels of silver be enough. It has to be five thousand."
"That is up to you," said Qin Yun.
East Mountain Vista was situated on a tiny island in the East Sea. It was the only cultivation sect in Southbright County and was very influential there.
In fact, one could protect their family clan by becoming a paper tiger just by gaining entry to a cultivation sect.
"Remember what you said,' remarked Qin Yun.
"I'll be going to Swallow Phoenix Brothel tonight," Yu Bai's spirit was soaring.
Qin Yun nodded. He felt pity and a little guilty for Xiao Shuang to lead such a life. He had not appeared when she needed him the most, causing Xiao Shuang to end up in a brothel alone. He wanted to try his best to make up for it.
…
That night, Yu Bai went to Swallow Phoenix Brothel. After watching Lady Chen Shuang's sword dance, he turned agitated. With his friends as witnesses, he wrote 'Ode to Chen Shuang' on the spot. Then, he requested to meet Lady Chen Shuang.
The news immediately attracted the attention of many renowned courtesans from the brothels in Grand Dominance County.
"What? Yu Bai went to meet Chen Shuang? After watching her sword dance, he wrote an 'Ode to Chen Shuang'?"
"How is this Chen Shuang so lucky?"
Many renowned courtesans turned envious and jealous.
And at Dreamlike Pavilion, a brothel established by Dreamlike Pavilion Lady herself.
"I have invited Yu Bai numerous times but he shied away from me but now, he has gone to meet that young lass?" Dreamlike Pavilion Lady was leaning on a bench. She had fair skin and all sorts of charms exuded from her eyebrows. Although she was thirty-five, she had a mature beauty thanks to the extension of her youth from Qi Refinement. People may have resented her winning of the title of Courtesan Belle two years ago but she was confident of entering the top five through her own strengths. However, Lady Scented Dress and Fairy Clear Autumn were a lot more famous than her. By defeating them, it appeared unfair.
"Mistress, this is the 'Ode to Chen Shuang' that the great scholar, Yu Bai wrote. It was just copied and sent over." the female attendant immediately handed it over to her politely.
Dreamlike Pavilion Lady casually took it and unfurled it.
The text that replicated the ode was considered rather neat and trite but the ode itself made Dreamlike Pavilion Lady's expression change drastically.
"Why isn't it writing about me? Why is it not me?" Dreamlike Pavilion Lady clenched the roll of paper till her veins protruded from her slender hands. "Why is it that lass Chen Shuang?"
Dreamlike Pavilion Lady was also proficient in the artistry skills of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Although she could not produce any good pieces, she could tell that this was absolutely one of the best works from the great scholar Yu Bai.
"This ode is imbued with true feelings and can only be written this well by having one's heart truly touched." Dreamlike Pavilion Lady refused to believe it. "Could it be that the lass Chen Shuang has really stirred his heart?"
…
News of the good ode quickly proliferated.
Even with his status as one of the four great scholars of Jiangnan, the number of poems or pieces he had that could spread throughout the world was limited. A piece that was written naturally was rare. Forcefully writing one would typically be mediocre.
"Second Young Master! I have been waiting outside Swallow Phoenix Brothel all this while. This is the 'Ode to Chen Shuang' that the great scholar Yu Bai wrote. Swallow Phoenix Brothel had gotten people to make copies of it. Many people were buying it. I rushed back after buying one." A servant respectfully handed the roll of paper to Qin Yun.
Qin Yun took it over and unfurled it, allowing the warm yellow light from a lamp illuminate it.
"A great ode and impressive literary flair."
Qin Yun smiled.
He could still clearly remember the plan Yu Bai had described to him. The ode… was not written recently. Instead, it was from a three-year-old memory of Yu Bai's unrequited love for a woman who eventually married someone else. Yu Bai had written the ode as he reminisced over the beauty. It was imbued with his natural emotions and truly one of the best works he had written in his life. However, after reading it thrice, he tore it apart. If news of it got out, it would not necessarily be a good thing for the woman that had married to someone else.
For his son, Yu Bai was willing to go all out.
He reused the ode and made some modifications, making it 'Ode to Chen Shuang'.
And afraid that it would leak out, he did not even tell the contents of it to Qin Yun. Only when he wrote it at Swallow Phoenix Brothel did Qin Yun learn of it.
"Not only is this a great ode, there will be three other good poems in the year ahead." Qin Yun looked forward to it. "They have all been prepared by Yu Bai."
Not only was there going to be an ode, there was also going to be poems.
And a 'story' of the great scholar Yu Bai acting the role of a forlorn lover suffering unrequited love as he remained infatuated to Lady Chen Shuang. Just as the saying goes, the fallen flower pines for love but the heartless brook babbles on with unrequited love. As he suffered in the misery of unrequited love, the great scholar Yu Bai would produce three poems in the coming year to flesh out his one-sided pining for her.
"In the future, when Yu Bai is mentioned, Xiao Shuang will definitely be mentioned as well. An 'Ode to Chen Shuang' with three other poems would definitely become well-known throughout the Jiang Prefecture after a year." Qin Yun secretly sighed. "This great scholar is using his talented fame to imbue Xiao Shuang with fame."
…
Day after day.
With 'Ode to Chen Shuang' spreading, Swallow Phoenix Brothel's Lady Chen Shuang's fame naturally grew. After all, the ode's description depicted her perfectly. It spoke of her like a fairy or goddess that had descended to the mortal world. The amount needed to meet her quickly increased and in a few days, it had raised to fifty taels of silver! However, there were still many sons of the wealthy that fell over each other to win an audience with her.
Even a young master of the county governor had sought her audience. It only served to make Lady Chen Shuang more sought after.
"Xiao Shuang, what are you thinking about?" Auntie Xue said with a smile.
Lady Chen Shuang was sitting in front of a blank canvas and writing with her mind elsewhere. She said softly, "Everything that happened in the past half month appears to be like a dream."
"That's right, it's like a dream. First, the great scholar, Yu Bai began courting you and raised your fame using 'Ode to Chen Shuang'. Even the county governor's young master and other noblemen have sought an audience with you," commented Auntie Xue.
"Someone is helping me," said Lady Chen Shuang.
Auntie Xue was taken aback, "Helping you?"
"Yes."
Lady Chen Shuang nodded, "Mister Yu had hinted to me that he was doing it under a request by somebody."
Auntie Xue was alarmed. "Request by somebody? Who could have that capability? Could it be Qin Yun? Or someone in power from the county governor's brethren?"
Lady Chen Shuang did not speak further but instead continued writing.
Chapter 17: County Governor Visits
It was a day in spring with the right amount of sunshine.
Qin Yun was lying on a chair, enjoying some tea.
"Xiao Shuang's fame has improved by leaps and bounds. She has already been selected to be one of the top ten contenders for the title of Courtesan Belle. Seven days later, she will appear with nine other renowned courtesans to contest in the final round." Qin Yun shook his head slightly. "However, there hasn't been enough time for her fame to slowly spread. Her actual following probably cannot match Fairy Clear Autumn and Lady Scented Dress's. It will be a little difficult for her to enter top three, much less clinching the title of Courtesan Belle."
Seven days later was the true competition for Courtesan Belle.
The ten renowned courtesans would compete by showcasing their talents, using all the means they had on a cruise ship that day. There would be a huge crowd watching and the top three would be selected on that day before the final Courtesan Belle was chosen. It was a grand event held in Grand Dominance County every year!
"The Astral Patterned Steel that I obtained previously have all been refined. The materials I had with me can't last more than a few days!" Qin Yun thought to himself. "It looks like I need to mass purchase some items. There are no breaks to cultivating my Intrinsic Flying Sword. When the day my Intrinsic Flying Sword attains completion, my strength would also greatly increase as well."
"Oh?"
There were very deep and heavy rumbles coming from the ground. Ordinary people would not have been able to sense it but Qin Yun had very sharp senses. His expression changed slightly. "There's a lot of people heading here?"
******
On the streets.
"It's the county governor."
"Make way. Make way."
"Stay a distance from them."
Be it ordinary commoners or rich merchants, or even sons of noblemen, all of them quickly made way, afraid to incur any offense.
In Grand Dominance County, the county governor was king! He was the absolute emperor of the land!
A luxurious horse carriage was slowly proceeding forward, pulled by two noble steeds. There were a large group of personal guards dressed in armor surrounding the carriage, each looking extraordinarily mighty. Even if the old demon, Chu Yong dared to rush into the county governor's personal guards, there would only be one outcome for him—torn to pieces!
"Where is the county governor going?"
"The only thing of significance around here is the Qin Manor. However, the county governor has never been there before."
"Then it's because you are unaware. The Qin Manor's second young master, Qin Yun, is already one of the immortals. I believe the county governor is here for the Qin family's second young master."
"So what if he has knocked open the gate of immortality? The county governor protects millions of citizens. Typical immortal cultivators will not even dare act wantonly in front of him."
There were all sorts of murmurs discussing the situation.
…
Qin Manor's entrance.
Qin Liehu, his wife, Changlan, the first young master, Qin An and second young master, Qin Yun were already waiting.
Changlan asked curiously, "Liehu, it's been years since we moved to Grand Dominance City but the county governor has never visited. Even if he wants to meet you, he would directly send someone to summon you. Why would he come personally?"
"He's probably not here to see me but here for our son." Qin Liehu said in hushed tones.
"He's here to see Yun'er?" Changlan hurriedly said, "Yun'er just came back so why is he meeting him?"
Instead, Qin Liehu said, "How would I know? However, Yun'er is twenty-one this year. It has only been a few years since he knocked open the gate of immortality. Logically speaking, a county governor would not think so highly of Yun'er. But since he's coming, he probably has a request. Yun'er, for a person of his status to request something of you, it is definitely not something simple. You should not easily agree to it. Everything must be handled very seriously and carefully."
"I understand." Qin Yun nodded.
Qin Liehu nodded slightly.
To him, his son's safety was obviously of utmost importance.
As for Qin Yun, he was looking far into the distance. He could tell at a glance that the luxurious horse carriage was not ordinary. There was a mysterious luster inside the box carriage that even a powerful shot from a crossbow would fail to penetrate it. Traveling beside the carriage were five people. Out of the five, there were elderly men and women. They were on horseback and had extraordinary dispositions. The personal guards that surrounded the carriage numbered more than a hundred. Every one of these personal guards had a converged radiance to them. Every action they made seemed to be particularly mighty.
"County Governor Manor, the personal guard army." Qin Yun thought to himself. "It's said that half the experts in all of Grand Dominance County are in County Governor Manor! Although it might seem a little exaggerated, it makes sense too. Even if it's me, I can only run when facing the onslaught of the personal guard army."
"Trot! Trot! Trot!"
The horse carriage came to a halt.
A middle-aged man dismounted from the carriage first. He then carefully helped an elder down the carriage.
"Your subordinate, Qin Liehu greets Lord County Governor." Qin Liehu immediately bowed as his wife and Qin An behind him followed. Qin Yun, who was standing towards the back, similarly bowed.
Although there were more than a hundred people around, there was complete silence.
The elder was rather aged. His hair was white as he looked at Qin Liehu through turbid eyes. He said with a smile, "There's no need for formalities. I came today to Qin Manor to visit the great hero of our Grand Dominance County." As he spoke, he cast his eyes at Qin Yun and smiled.
"Great hero?" Qin Liehu was a little perplexed. Although his son was a cultivator, that did not mean that he was a great hero, right?
"Lord County Governor, don't just stand here. Please enter." Qin Liehu did not have the luxury of time to think it through as he immediately invited his superior in.
The entire group of people entered the manor and came to the main hall.
The elder, woman and four other experts stayed on guard outside the hall. The county governor brought only two people in and as such, Qin Liehu only brought Qin Yun in.
In the main hall.
The county governor naturally sat in the seat of honor while Qin Liehu and Qin Yun sat to one side, with the other two middle-aged men sitting across them.
"Let me do the introductions." The county governor pointed to a man in blue-robes that sat closest to him. "This is Brother Fang, who has temporarily taken the difficult task of being commander of my personal guards."
"Commander Fang."
Qin Liehu and Qin Yun immediately cupped their hands as a greeting.
Qin Liehu immediately said, "Yun'er, Commander Fang is our number one expert of Grand Dominance County. He is a powerful man at the Connate False Core realm."
"In front of our young friend, Qin Yun, I'm not considered anything powerful." The blue-robed man said with a chuckle.
"Before I returned to Grand Dominance, I heard of two Connate False Core realm seniors that reside in Grand Dominance County. One of them is Commander Fang and the other is Master Meixia," said Qin Yun with a smile. "Commander Fang holds down the fort for Grand Dominance, allowing peace to be maintained. I'm very impressed with him."
There were only two experts at the Connate False Core realm in Grand Dominance County. One of them went under the patronage of the imperial government while the other became commander of the county governor's personal guard army! Throughout the world, almost every county governor's personal guard army was helmed by a commander whose cultivation level was at the Connate False Core realm. It was also an indication of how highly the imperial government valued county governors.
After all, the imperial government would also be worried that the county governor that they assigned would be executed by demons.
Therefore, among the military powers a county governor had, the county army was naturally ranked first. The army was ten thousand soldiers strong or more. They were strongmen with powerful steeds, equipped with lots of powerful weapons. Ranked second was the personal guard army that protected the county governor at all times. Although the personal guard army numbered only six hundred, they were composed of absolute elites. The commander that led them would be helmed by someone at the Connate False Core realm. Ranked third were the constables from Six Fans Gate who maintained the safety of the hundreds of thousands of people in the city.
"You are giving me too much praise." Commander Fang said with a light chuckle. "The lot of us can't compare with you. You are the one that really ensured the safety of countless lives."
"There's no need to remain humble between the both of you." The county governor pointed to the middle-aged man sitting beside Commander Fang. "That is my youngest son, Wen Chong."
Both sides exchanged pleasantries.
Wen Chong immediately said, "I have always wanted to meet Brother Qin Yun after knowing of his feats. I finally had the pleasure today. Brother Qin Yun, can you explain what the scale of the demon scourge is like in the northern borders? I heard it's extremely horrible?"
"Northern borders?" Qin Liehu was alarmed.
"Why? Does Constable Qin not know?" asked the county governor with a laugh.
Qin Liehu was perplexed as he turned to look at his son.
Qin Yun was rendered helpless.
He had not wanted to worry his parents so he had never mentioned it.
When Wen Chong saw this, he immediately said, "It looks like I've blabbered too much."
"It's something that I have to tell my parents eventually." Qin Yun shook his head and said, "Back when I roamed the world, I also went to the northernmost lands. I wanted to see what the legendary northern borders that battled the demon scourge were like. However, when I saw the tragic things done by the demon scourge, I joined the army in a fit of anger. As such, I spent three years there."
"Three years?" Qin Liehu was alarmed. "Yun'er, you served in the northern borders for three years?"
"That is an extremely terrible place. There are massive numbers of losses and injuries every day. Demons also die in succession there." The county governor continued, "It's very impressive for him to serve for three years. Impressive."
Sitting to his side, Commander Fang added, "According to the records as written in the dossier handed down by the imperial government, our young friend Qin Yun has no lack of confirmed demon kills."
"Military operations." Qin Yun shook his head. "They are all about cooperation. It was not done solely on my own."
"To be able to kill so many and survive demands skill." Commander Fang said.
Qin Yun was taken aback as he shook his head slightly. "Indeed, surviving was not easy."
His good friends.
Be it because they were there to train themselves or to render meritorious services, or because of a fit of anger, cultivators came from everywhere to the northern borders to withstand the demon scourge.
In three years, more than half died in battle! There were people who were severely injured. Those who truly left safely numbered about twenty to thirty percent. Qin Yun was the only one that stayed the longest. He had stayed for three years before leaving because of a promise!
Memories of past scenes began to flood through his mind as they flashed across his eyes.
Those smiling faces.
The insanity as their lives was on the line.
Those figures that sang loudly with emotion despite facing death.
"Cultivators—cultivation can be done in seclusion, in the secular world, and also in the military." Qin Yun made a statement.
"Haha, Young Master Qin is right. One can cultivate anywhere. I came here today for two reasons. One, I wanted to see a great hero like Young Master Qin. Two, I have something I need Young Master Qin's help with," said the county governor.
"Here it comes." Qin Liehu's heart tightened.
However, Qin Yun remained calm. "County Governor, please speak."
The county governor said with a faint smile, "Deep in Grand Dominance county's tallest mountain, Green Tooth Mountain, there is a spirit fruit. It's slightly more than a month before the spirit fruit ripens. I want to request Young Master Qin to help me obtain the fruit when it ripens. Of course, it will not only be you. There will be two other companions. And of course, I will not treat Young Master Qin shabbily."
Sitting by the side, Wen Chong took out a thick stack of banknotes. He placed it on a tea table beside Qin Yun. When Qin Yun took a glance at it, he noticed that the topmost note denominated a thousand taels of silver.
"There is a total of a hundred thousand taels of silver here," said Wen Chong with a smile.
Qin Liehu drew in a cold gasp.
A hundred thousand taels of silver.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
18 Power
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