Yun Zhonghe was stupefied.

 The City of Torn Gust was a place with people from all walks of life, but they were starting an anti-vice operation?

 And if they wanted to shut down vice activities, they should go after lower-class places like the Sleepy Spring Brothel first. A top-notch brothel like Tianyu Pavilion was also their target?

 “What am I gonna do with the ‘Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank’ that I have prepared?”

 “I was going to show off my guqin skills and take the audience’s breath away.”

 “I, Yun Zhonghe, was going to be so popular in the City of Torn Gust and become the most celebrated male prostitute, no… the most celebrated musician.”

 His dream of becoming an artist had been nipped in the bud.

 When the girls being arrested saw the extremely handsome Yun Zhonghe, their eyes twinkled, and they cast sheep’s eyes at him.

 When the most beautiful girl among them looked at him, it felt like her big, watery eyes could speak.

 And Yun Zhonghe started to exchange messages of love with her through amorous glances.

 “Handsome little brother, this must be your first time here?”

 “Yeah, sister.”

 “Today is not a good time. The place is being shut down, but if you come again in two days, I’ll serve you, free of charge.”

 “To be honest, I’m here to be your colleague. I wanted to work here.”

 “That’s better! I’ll play with you every day.”

 They didn’t speak a word, but they were able to communicate with their eyes without any obstruction.

 A poem suited that very moment well.

 “They have no wings to fly side by side, yet their minds think alike.”

 Everybody knew that it was hard to find a soul mate, but after Yun Zhonghe came to this world, he had been finding soul mates everywhere.

 “I don’t expect much from a soul mate; they just need to be pretty enough and have sexy figures.”

 When a man and a woman were good-looking enough, there would naturally be a connection between them when they were face to face with each other.

 Good looks could overcome any obstacle. Only those who weren’t good-looking enough needed spiritual connection. There was a great saying, “Nothing counts but good looks.”

 Yun Zhonghe watched the girls, the one who had a deep connection with him in particular, as they were arrested.

 The whole Tianyu Pavilion was closed down.

 “Come, let’s go,” Xu Antiing said indifferently.

 She didn’t leave when they first found out that the place was sealed because that would raise suspicion. On the other hand, standing with the crowd that had gathered to watch the arrests was a normal reaction.

 ***

 “Tianyu Pavilion being shut down is totally unexpected. I smell a rat,” Xu Anting said. “I didn’t get wind of it from the garrison of the city.”

 “Did we get a report about it from our undercover agents in the residence of the castellan and the garrison?” Xu Antiing asked.

 “I’ve gotten in touch with them,” Xu Anting replied, “but none of the undercover agents know the reason for the operation. Since the Third of March Incident two years ago, we haven’t placed any agents in the upper class, so the Order of the Black Dragon is now like a blind and deaf man in this city. We don’t get any confidential information. We have to turn the tables as soon as possible.”

 Then, he looked at Yun Zhonghe and said, “Mr. Yun, this is where we need you. At this critical moment, we need you more than ever to infiltrate the upper class of the City of Torn Gust in the shortest time possible. On one side, you need to subjugate Jing Zhongyue; on the other side, you need to stay informed about the movements of the city’s upper crust. If we wait too long, the City of Torn Gust might pledge allegiance to the Southern Zhou Empire before we even hear about it.”

 The Great Ying Empire, the Southern Zhou Empire, and the Great Liang Kingdom were all trying desperately to subjugate the barons in the Land of No King.

 The City of Torn Gust was very important. If it pledged allegiance to the Southern Zhou Empire, the military strategy of the Great Ying Empire would suffer a major blow.

 If they wanted to make up for the loss, they would have to sacrifice 100,000 to 200,000 lives.

 Yun Zhonghe said, “There must be more high-end brothels other than Tianyu Pavilion in the City of Torn Gust. I could just go to Tianfeng Pavilion or Tianmao Pavilion.”

 “Yun Zhonghe, are you really that eager to work in such places?” Xu Antiing asked skeptically.

 Yun Zhonghe replied to her in a solemn tone, “Sister, I have to criticize you for saying that. The careers we take on are neither shameful nor noble. How could you have a prejudice against sex workers? I’m doing it for the empire’s great cause.”

 Xu Anting said, “You can’t go to the other brothels because they aren’t under our control. They could be under the thumb of the Southern Zhou Empire. Letting you work there would be sending you on a suicide mission, you understand?”

 “So, you are saying that the first route is already gone?” Yun Zhonghe said.

 “Yes, gone,” Xu Anting confirmed.

 Right after that, a man rushed into the room out of the blue and gave Xu Anting a note, then quickly left.

 Xu Anting opened and read the note. He then said, “The first route is now completely sealed off. I’ve just gotten news that Lady Musk has left the City of Torn Gust and taken off to the City of Heavenly Wind. She is representing Castellan Jing Zhongyue as she attends the 50th birthday party of the City of Heavenly Wind’s castellan.”

 Yun Zhonghe’s heart was filled with boundless regret.

 To be honest, he hadn’t given Lady Musk much thought previously, but now that he knew he couldn’t have her, he suddenly became obsessed with her.

 He felt a little empty knowing that nothing could happen between them.

 Xu Anting said, “Now, the situation in the City of Torn Gust is slipping farther out of our control with each passing day, it is becoming more favorable to the Southern Zhou Empire. We have to infiltrate the residence of the castellan as soon as possible, and get close to the city’s power center in the shortest time possible so that we can regain control of the situation.”

 “Has the Great Ying Empire started military buildup?” Yun Zhonghe asked.

 “That kind of information is above my paygrade. But one thing is for sure; the empire is preparing for the coming war every day. If we complete the mission sooner, hundreds of thousands of soldiers will not have to die on the battlefield.”

 “Mr. Yun, get ready for the second route. You will become a servant in the castellan’s residence.” Xu Anting continued, “I will introduce you to the chamberlain of the castellan’s residence, Li Tang, tomorrow. He is a henchman of the former castellan’s wife, and Castellan Jing Zhongyue grew up under his care. His words carry great weight in the castellan’s residence, so the plan should still be sound. Moreover, you will need his support for some time in the castellan’s residence.”

 Yun Zhonghe said, “No problem, I am ready.”

 Xu Anting said, “So you know how to carry yourself when you meet the chamberlain, Li Tang, tomorrow?

 “Listen more, speak less. And with those limited number of words, I will need to kiss his *ss, and I will do it in a very sophisticated manner,” Yun Zhonghe said. “At first, I will pay allegiance to him and follow his lead. I will beat up whomever Chamberlain Li asks me to. Chamberlain Li’s vision is my mission.”

 “Secondly, I will show that I’m a capable man, a man with both intelligence and martial skills. He will know that I’m very useful, and I will be the sharp sword in his hand that helps him get rid of those who defy him.”

 Xu Anting said, “Great, that’s right. But you are way too handsome. A servant cannot be this handsome, so you have to hide it a little.”

 Yun Zhonghe took his mirror out and sighed. “Handsome guy, we will be parted for some time. But don’t be sad, as the separation now is for the sake of our reunion in the future. One day, I will let your unparalleled handsome face be shown in front of everyone above board.”

 Chills swept through Xu Anting and his sister once again.

 Yun Zhonghe wasn’t just narcissistic; he was completely insane.

 “Our undercover agents in the residence of the castellan are ready,” Xu Anting said. “Once you are there, they will work closely with you. You will rise to power in the shortest time possible, become the best servant, and capture Jing Zhongyue’s attention.”

 ***

 On the next day, Yun Zhonghe disguised himself, reducing his attractiveness from 120% to 70%.

 But even after he had reduced his handsomeness by 50%, he was still very handsome. It was barely imaginable how handsome he used to be.

 After that, Xu Anting brought him to a restaurant next to the castellan’s residence to meet with the chamberlain, Li Tang.

 The Order of the Black Dragon had prepared an elaborate gift for Li Tang. It wasn’t very expensive, but it was very rare, and it was Li Tang’s favorite.

 Yun Zhonghe was also ready. He would lavish compliments on Chamberlain Li Tang until the man was so pleased that he took Yun Zhonghe as his bosom friend.

 He knew that although Li Tang was greedy, he was also very artistic and loved painting and calligraphy.

 He had already studied the style of Li Tang’s calligraphy, and he would wax lyrical about his work and make Li Tang so happy that every inch of him was soaked in joy.

 *ss-kissing wasn’t an easy job. It could be very tricky to do it right. He needed to have extensive knowledge about calligraphy and painting, because only then would his flattery be trustworthy and capable of pulling at Li Tang’s heartstrings.

 Yun Zhonghe was very confident that he would become Chamberlain Li Tang’s henchman within ten days.

 On top of that, he could imitate Li Tang’s painting, making identical copies of the man’s work that were even more vivid.

 He would ask Li Tang to be his teacher and make him think that his student had learned from him and outdone him.

 That would give Li Tang the impression that he had invested a lot of effort in Yun Zhonghe.

 People only truly cared about others after investing a lot of effort into them.

 A man, more often than not, valued his own effort the most.

 ***

 Xu Anting and Yun Zhonghe were sitting in a high-class private room of a restaurant, waiting for the arrival of Chamberlain Li Tang.

 Everything was in place.

 Everyone was looking forward to Yun Zhonghe’s performance. From today onwards, he would be a proud servant in the residence of the castellan.

 But after 15 minutes…

 Half an hour later.

 An hour later.

 Chamberlain Li Tang did not turn up.

 After two whole hours, a man showed up in front of Xu Anting.

 “Shopkeeper Xu, you don’t need to wait anymore!”

 Xu Anting asked, “What’s going on?”

 “Chamberlain Li Tang has been locked up. He’s being investigated.”

 Xu Anting was shocked. “What? What the hell happened?”

 “Someone exposed the fact that Chamberlain Li Tang was embezzling public funds. He was arrested an hour ago.”

 Yun Zhonghe and Xu Anting were stupefied.

 “What the f*ck!”

 “I wanted to start my career in the high-end brothel, Tianyu Pavilion, but it was shut down by anti-vice operations.”

 “Now, just as I’m about to bribe Chamberlain Li Tang for a job in the castellan’s residence, someone starts an anti-corruption movement?”

 “Am I a jinx?”

 “God, is it because I am too handsome that you are giving me a hard time?”

 Xu Anting was also staring at Yun Zhonghe. He obviously thought the same thing.

 “Shopkeeper Xu, the castellan has just announced that to rectify the moral climate in her residence, she will not take in any new employees for some time. It doesn’t matter if someone is a servant, a doctor, or a teacher. No one goes in.”

 After saying that, the Black Dragon agent who was undercover in the grass-roots unit of the castellan’s residence left.

 ***

 So, what now?

 Both the first and second routes had been blocked.

 Even infiltrating the residence of the castellan was no longer an option.

 If he couldn’t infiltrate the residence of the castellan, how would he be able to approach Jing Zhongyue? How would he be able to infiltrate the upper class of the City of Torn Gust?

 How would he subjugate Jing Zhongyue?

 How would he conquer the City of Torn Gust?

 Yun Zhonghe sighed lightly and said, “Shopkeeper Xu, none of your plans are working. There is no way I can infiltrate the castellan’s residence. So, from now on, we’ll do it my way.”

 Xu Anting said, “Mr. Yun, you also have plans to infiltrate the castellan’s residence and approach Castellan Jing Zhongyue?”

 Yun Zhonghe said, “Oh yeah. It is an ingenious plan, way better than the two you prepared. You guys are the experts in undercover operations and gathering information. But I’m an expert in seducing women.”