Chapter 1137: Modesty and Sharing

Though Huang Juan was no longer young, she had mastered the art of preserving her appearance. She looked no older than thirty — a woman in the prime of her allure, with a fine figure to boot. Her full, high breasts, round and pert rear, long straight legs, slender waist, and rosy, luminous skin all combined to paint a picture that set the imagination racing. Such a beautiful woman naturally caught the attention of the several guards standing at the gate.

"Brothers, I am a member of the Haik family. I have urgent business to report to City Lord Fei Zhitu," Huang Juan forced a smile onto her face while cursing Ian to high heaven in her heart.

Ian had specifically sent her alone to deliver the message, clearly banking on the fact that as a woman she would find it easier to deal with the City Lord — that she'd be more pleasant to talk to, more persuasive.

Yet before she had even set foot inside the City Lord's manor, she found herself surrounded by guards whose cultivation was only at the Entering Saint Realm. She was both furious and helpless. In any other place, as a Saint King Stage Three cultivator, she could have killed these men without breaking a sweat. But this was the City Lord's manor — territory of the Shadow Moon Hall. Unless she had a death wish, she wouldn't dare raise a hand.

"The Haik family?" One of the guards — a man with a long, horse-like face and an ugly mug — repeated the words in a mocking, sing-song tone. He shook his head. "Never heard of it. Have you lot heard of them?"

Another guard promptly explained: "A minor vassal family under the sect."

"A vassal family." The horse-faced warrior gave a slight nod. "No wonder I haven't heard of them. What business does someone from a vassal family have coming here?"

His air of absolute superiority and undisguised contempt for the Haik family made Huang Juan clench her teeth in private, but she had no choice but to keep smiling. "Brothers, I truly have an urgent matter that requires an audience with City Lord Fei Zhitu. I'd be grateful if you could do me the favor of passing along the message."

The horse-faced guard snorted coldly. "The City Lord is an important man with countless matters to attend to. Where would he find the time to see the likes of you? Go back wherever you came from."

The Shadow Moon Hall had no shortage of vassal families. These outlying factions were all pitifully weak. Though these guards themselves had only reached the Entering Saint Realm, they had spent years regarding themselves as disciples of the Shadow Moon Hall, and their heads were high above the clouds. So even though Huang Juan's cultivation far surpassed theirs, they didn't give her the slightest bit of respect.

Hearing the horse-faced guard's words, Huang Juan gritted her silver teeth. Then, suddenly, she let loose a smile brimming with feminine charm. She beckoned to him. "This brother, could you come over here and talk?"

She was a woman who had spent years making her way in the world. She understood the ways of human relations well enough — who didn't know the principle that the King of Hell is easy to meet, but the little demons are hard to deal with?

"Oh?" The horse-faced guard let out a low, lecherous laugh. "Does little sister have something she can't say in front of everyone?"

Chuckling, he swaggered over to where Huang Juan stood.

Once he was at her side, she drew a handful of Saint Crystals from her spatial ring and secretly pressed them into his palm, murmuring in a soft voice, "Guard brother, please do me this favor."

Without even glancing at them, the horse-faced guard tucked the Saint Crystals into his own spatial ring. Then he suddenly grabbed Huang Juan's slender, pale hand and began rubbing it vigorously, as though he had never seen a woman before, his face twisted in an expression of bliss. He whispered, "Little sister, it's not that I won't help — it's really that the City Lord has no time…"

The moment his hand touched her, Huang Juan's delicate body shuddered, and goosebumps erupted across her skin. She wanted nothing more than to tear this wretch into a thousand pieces on the spot, but she swallowed her fury and produced even more Saint Crystals, pressing them into his hand as she continued to plead. "Just go in and announce me. If the City Lord agrees to see me or not, I'll have no complaints."

With a fresh windfall of Saint Crystals, the horse-faced guard finally showed a satisfied expression. He gave Huang Juan's hand one last squeeze before beaming. "Fine, fine — since you've come all this way, I'll put in a word for you. But don't get your hopes up. The City Lord really is very busy."

"I understand. Thank you so much, brother." Huang Juan let out a quiet breath of relief. She truly feared the scoundrel would keep taking advantage of her.

She watched with her own eyes as the horse-faced guard walked into the City Lord's manor. Then she stood outside, waiting anxiously.

It was not long before the guard reappeared. The moment she saw the gloomy look on his face, Huang Juan's heart sank — she knew things had not gone well. She hurried forward. "What did the City Lord say?"

The guard, having taken her money, at least didn't lose his temper. He merely said, "He won't see you. Not only that, he scolded me for it."

"Ah…" Huang Juan let out a deep sigh. A heavy sense of powerlessness welled up from the depths of her heart. She had no family in this world and had relied entirely on herself to cultivate, pushing all the way to Saint King Stage Three. It was only a decade or so ago that she had been taken in by the Haik family as an outside-named patron. She had intended to use the Haik family as a stepping stone, working toward the Shadow Moon Hall, hoping that one day she might join its ranks. But now she knew — in the eyes of the Shadow Moon Hall, the Haik family was absolutely nothing. She, a mere patron, couldn't even get an audience with the City Lord.

In the depths of her heart, she cursed Ian — who had sent her to the City Lord's manor — a thousand times over.

Back at the Haik family, several elders had already set their sights on her. Coming here, she still ended up being groped and taken advantage of. With low strength and no backing, life in this world was nothing but hardship at every turn.

A sudden wave of disheartenment washed over her. She found herself wondering whether she should simply leave the Haik family. That clan had no future — staying would only be a waste of her years.