From the moment the woman spoke of her actions, Liu Buli had already determined that she had recognized him and Lu Wuming. After all, in many ways, the two of them were too distinctive. He had indeed been too conspicuous in the cultivation world recently.
If one frequently collected intelligence on the cultivation world, it would be impossible not to know such simple matters.
The woman naturally understood his meaning. Upon receiving his hint, she immediately smiled, shook her head, and said, "I don't intend to tell anyone about this information. Because as I said, I like people who are beautiful and polite. You possess both these qualities, so even for that reason alone, I wouldn't tell anyone about you."
The woman thought Liu Buli would be happy when she said this.
But to her surprise, after a moment of contemplation, Liu Buli shook his head instead. He said, "I would prefer if we resolved this matter according to the rules. After all, relationships built on preference might not be as firm as those built on money. What do you think, miss?"
The woman pouted.
With a hint of coquetry, she glanced at Liu Buli and chided, "Although this is our first meeting, I've heard so much about you from outside. I've wondered what kind of person you would be. The rumors outside say you're neither good nor bad, but I never expected you to be so unromantic."
Hearing her reprimand, Liu Buli actually chuckled.
He gently shook his head and said, "If you're talking about this, you should be thanking me for my lack of romance. After all, you've also felt it; my disciple's attitude towards others is not very pleasant. Moreover, after investigating so many things, you should understand how important my foolish disciple considers me. If I were too close to you, it might not be me who suffers, but you, miss."
Liu Buli spoke with evident concern.
The woman seemed to have thought of something similar. Her expression turned awkward for a moment, and then she shook her head, saying, "The guest is right. In that case, for my own safety, let's handle this on a business basis."
As she spoke, she held up two fingers towards Liu Buli.
This was a request for two money pouches.
Liu Buli understood and directly handed her five identical money pouches. Then he smiled and said, "This number sounds better. Including the information you were about to tell me, that should be enough, right?"
Seeing him like this, the woman was startled by his generosity.
She quickly nodded to indicate it was sufficient, then dipped her finger in wine and lightly wrote four characters on the table—
Tomorrow night, midnight.
Liu Buli understood that this was the time the ghost tribe member who regularly bought information from her would appear.
Since he had obtained the information he wanted, there was no need for him to stay any longer. However, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he got up and gave another bag of silver to the plump woman in charge. He gestured towards the courtesan and said, "Have her wait for me in her room. Tonight, I've bought her out."
The amount he gave was substantial.
The plump woman, weighing the bag, was so delighted that her face broke into a wide smile.
Lu Wuming was startled.
He wanted to say something, but Liu Buli turned back to the courtesan. He lowered his voice and smiled at her, saying, "Rest well tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, he pulled Lu Wuming and left the pleasure house.
Watching their retreating figures, the courtesan was lost in thought for a moment.
Her mind replayed the man's smile just now.
She truly did like gentle, polite, and beautiful people.
And at least in that instant, she felt herself momentarily captivated...
Indeed, compared to beauty and allure, that man was far superior to her in every aspect...
The courtesan raised her hand to her chest.
She admonished herself inwardly, this heartbeat couldn't get any faster...
Regardless of what the woman was thinking, after the two of them left the pleasure house, before Liu Buli could even explain, Lu Wuming anxiously asked, "Master, just now you were..."
"Shh..." Liu Buli interrupted Lu Wuming's question, smiled, and shook his head. He signaled for him not to ask further for the moment, and then, pulling him along, they walked back to their inn as quickly as possible, both maintaining their silence.
Lu Wuming had been in a state of bewilderment the entire time. As Liu Buli led him forward, he instinctively followed. He hadn't even considered what explanation his master would give him until they reached their destination. He only knew he was a bit angry, but now that they were back at their inn, he felt his anger was somewhat inexplicable. So, maintaining this strange emotion, Lu Wuming looked up into Liu Buli's eyes and said, "Master, can you explain it to me properly now?"
That was certainly not a problem.
Liu Buli smiled.
He first reached out and ruffled Lu Wuming's hair, then pulled him to sit by the bed. He clearly made a show of wanting to coax his big doggy. Once Lu Wuming's expression had softened slightly, Liu Buli began to speak, "Actually, I was thinking before, the differences between ghosts and humans are so vast. Even if they can sneak into human cities at night, given their appearances and their habit of eating people, it's not easy for them to gather intelligence in the human world long-term."
With this explanation, Lu Wuming's intelligence was online for once. He didn't even need Liu Buli to elaborate further. Lu Wuming's eyes widened, and he said with a sudden realization, "I understand. So, Master, you thought that someone might be helping them gather information, and you wanted to test who was doing this for them, right?"
"That's right," Liu Buli smiled and continued to ruffle Lu Wuming's hair, praising him generously, "Our Wuming is very smart. You understood immediately!"
He had indeed understood a lot, but not everything.
After staring at Liu Buli's face for a moment, Lu Wuming shook his head and said somewhat awkwardly, "But I don't understand how Master guessed it was the courtesan."
"I didn't entirely guess it; I was just trying my luck. Fortunately, my luck was good, and I got it on the first try," Liu Buli said. "Because ghosts are generally quite foolish, I thought they would seek help from people within this city. I walked around the market today, and none of the people I saw seemed likely candidates. So, I decided to try my luck at the pleasure house. It turns out, they really don't have much of a brain."