Chapter 260: The Six-Fingered Lute Demon

"He's also in Ningbo City? And he even watched the martial arts competition to find a bride?" A fair-faced woman with picturesque features suddenly brightened upon reading Ye Xiu's diary. The

only person who could read Ye Xiu's diary was a woman, a woman whom Ye Xiu had mentioned in his diary.

After seeing Ye Xiu mention her in his diary, she harbored a desire to find him, but she wasn't sure he would truly fulfill her wish and reveal her brother's whereabouts.

The diary's daily updates, with new entries appearing automatically, led her to believe that this diary might contain a treasure like her Heavenly Demon Lute, perhaps even more miraculous.

Such a precious artifact must reveal something genuine.

So, she departed from the Ming Dynasty and journeyed to the Sui Dynasty, attempting to locate Ye Xiu.

Even though Ye Xiu's diary frequently mentioned disguises, making it difficult to determine his appearance and whereabouts, she still decided to travel to the Sui Dynasty to find him.

After all, for her, life was all about two things. Or rather, before she saw the diary, her life was all about one thing: revenge for her family.

It was only after reading Ye Xiu's diary that she discovered her brother was not dead, and so she had another goal in mind: finding him.

She even prioritized revenge over finding him.

The Heavenly Demon Harp, whose family had been killed because of it, and the woman Ye Xiu mentioned in his diary, was naturally the Six-Fingered Lute Demon Huang Xuemei.

Ye Xiu's diary initially only gave Huang Xuemei a glimmer of hope, as she truly hoped her brother was still alive. As for Ye Xiu's knowledge of the Eight Sounds of Heavenly Dragons and his desire for the Heavenly Demon Harp, if Ye Xiu could tell her where her brother was and wait until she avenged her family, she would happily give him the instrument. Even if it was a peerless divine weapon.

But for Huang Xuemei, the Heavenly Demon Harp was merely a tool for revenge. As long as she could find her biological brother and avenge him, the Heavenly Demon Harp's existence was irrelevant.

Especially after Huang Xuemei received the diary as a reward, which boosted her cultivation by a month, she discovered that the diary's magical power was on par with, or even surpassed, the Heavenly Demon Harp. She then lost interest in the instrument.

So, Huang Xuemei, armed with the Heavenly Demon Harp, headed straight for Ye Xiu.

Initially, when she saw Ye Xiu at Pegasus Ranch, she was quite excited, believing that the longer he stayed, the easier it would be for her to find him.

Unfortunately, Ye Xiu had already left Pegasus Ranch before Huang Xuemei arrived at the Great Sui Dynasty.

However, this didn't stop Huang Xuemei from continuing her journey.

Huang Xuemei hurried all the way to Ningbo City. She saw the martial arts competition being held there, but she only glanced at it, completely uninterested. She even bought some rations and continued on her way. By the time she saw Ye Xiu's diary entry, she was already quite a distance away. However,

upon seeing Ye Xiu himself in Ningbo, Huang Xuemei's eyes lit up. Without even a moment's rest, she immediately began to return to the city.

Meanwhile, Huang Xuemei couldn't help but recall the time she had witnessed the martial arts competition.

She vaguely remembered someone among the crowd leading a horse, apparently a BMW. However, Huang Xuemei was in such a hurry that she didn't pay much attention to the person.

She couldn't even remember the owner of the BMW.

But she had watched the competition and received a gift of a thousand-mile BMW from Pegasus Ranch. Huang Xuemei was almost certain the person was Ye Xiu, the one she was looking for.

She knew the diary writer was Ye Xiu. This

was primarily because Huang Xuemei was from the Ming Dynasty. Although she hadn't visited Mount Huashan, having seen in her diary that Ye Xiu was no longer there, she had still managed to gather some information about the Huashan Sect. She knew that a disciple named Ye Xiu was exceptionally handsome.

Combined with Ye Xiu's frequent boasts in his diary about being the most handsome man in the Ming Dynasty, Huang Xuemei knew Ye Xiu's name.

However, she only knew Ye Xiu's name; she still didn't know his appearance.

Huang Xuemei felt a wave of regret, regretting not paying closer attention. Otherwise, she wouldn't have missed him.

Huang Xuemei simply hoped that Ye Xiu hadn't left Ningbo before she returned.

Huang Xuemei, now even discontented with her own horse's lack of speed, abandoned it and channeled her inner energy, pushing her Qinggong to its limits, speeding towards Ningbo City.

Finally, before her zhenqi had nearly depleted, she arrived in Ningbo City. Even then, the sky was barely breaking.

To prevent Ye Xiu from leaving Ningbo City early in the morning on his Thousand Miles BMW, Huang Xuemei didn't even pause. Without even waiting for the city gates to open, she immediately channeled her Qinggong to vault over them.

When Huang Xuemei landed, she stumbled slightly from the severe depletion of zhenqi, nearly falling.

Even so, Huang Xuemei didn't bother to rest. With her Tianmoqin strapped to her back, she quickly began searching for an inn in Ningbo City.

She needed to find an inn that would accommodate a guest riding a Thousand Miles BMW, so she could find Ye Xiu, who might have undergone a facial transformation.

After all, she only knew Ye Xiu's name, not his appearance, much less whether he had disguised himself or used a false name. The Thousand Miles BMW that Ye Xiu rode was Huang Xuemei's only clue in her search for Ye Xiu.

Huang Xuemei searched house by house, and finally, when daylight had fully broken and many shops were already open, she found information at an inn called Yunlaiyunqu that a guest on a BMW had checked in. Huang

Xuemei's exhausted body suddenly trembled, and her spirits began to perk up.

"Shopkeeper, I'm asking you, where is the guest on the BMW?" Huang Xuemei approached the shopkeeper and asked urgently.

"I don't know what you're up to?" The shopkeeper frowned, looking at Huang Xuemei hesitantly, worried that this person was seeking revenge against Ye Xiu.

It wasn't that the shopkeeper had any connection to Ye Xiu; he simply didn't want to bring any trouble to the inn.

If this person was Ye Xiu's enemy, a fight would break out in the inn, and the inn would suffer the consequences.

Huang

Xuemei slammed a gold ingot onto the table, and the entire piece of gold was embedded into the tabletop.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper knew that Huang Xuemei was someone he couldn't afford to offend. Of course, the most important thing was that Huang Xuemei was generous and gave him a gold ingot directly. Judging from the weight of the gold, it must have been at least ten taels.

Ten taels of gold was more than enough to replace all the tables, chairs, and benches in the inn, and even have some left over. As long as the inn wasn't demolished, he wouldn't have lost money.

So the innkeeper told Huang Xuemei Ye Xiu's room.

After receiving the address, Huang Xuemei didn't hesitate, rushing to Ye Xiu's room.

Arriving outside Ye Xiu's room, Huang Xuemei took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anxiety and calm herself down, then knocked softly on the door.

Inside, Ye Xiu had just woken up. Since he wasn't in a rush to return to Huashan, he'd relaxed considerably and didn't need to get up early. Instead, he preferred to stay in bed for a while, usually waking up after seven o'clock every day.

Hearing the knock on the door, Ye Xiu frowned slightly, as he was certain it wasn't the waiter. He could tell from the other person's footsteps that they were anxious and light, clearly a martial artist with decent Qinggong skills.

Of course, in Ye Xiu's opinion, it was still acceptable. After all, the other party's footsteps were quite noticeable, and he even faintly detected a hint of pretentiousness in them.

Therefore, Ye Xiu had no need to worry about the other party's strength.

"Who's outside?" Ye Xiu asked, even though he didn't consider the other party threatening.

"Excuse me, are you Ye Xiu, a disciple of the Huashan Sect?" Huang Xuemei asked with a hint of excitement and trepidation.

"Hmm?" Ye Xiu's face suddenly changed when he heard Huang Xuemei ask such a question.

Since leaving Huashan, except for the time at Pegasus Ranch when he revealed his true identity and told Zhu Yuyan and the others his real name, he had been in disguise the rest of the time. He even changed his name to Ye Fan.

So how did this outsider know his identity?

This made Ye Xiu wary.

"I am Huang Xuemei, known as the Six-Fingered Lute Demon. I have come to seek out Brother Ye today, but I have a favor to ask." Huang Xuemei understood when she heard Ye Xiu's hesitation.

Huang Xuemei knew Ye Xiu was being targeted by Pangban, a celestial mage, and therefore had been disguising himself. Hearing her expose his true identity had led to his hesitation, so Huang Xuemei revealed her true identity.

After all, Huang Xuemei knew that Ye Xiu had obtained her family's unique martial art, the Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon, through her diary, and therefore had some feelings about the Heavenly Demon Harp. Ye Xiu had also stated in his diary that he wanted to trade the whereabouts of Huang Xuemei's brother for the Heavenly Demon Harp.

So Huang Xuemei simply revealed her true identity, believing Ye Xiu wouldn't refuse a meeting.

"Huang Xuemei? The Six-Fingered Lute Demon?" Ye Xiu was taken aback by the name. He hadn't expected Huang Xuemei to come to him.

And since she knew his true identity, why would she come?

Could she have known about the Eight Sounds of the Heavenly Dragon?

But if she knew, wouldn't she harbor hostility towards him? After all, if he knew the Eight Sounds of Heavenly Dragons, it proved he could also control the Heavenly Demon Harp. Wasn't Huang Xuemei worried that Ye Xiu would steal her Heavenly Demon Harp?

And why was he showing up now? What did that mean?

Ye Xiu amplified his perception and discovered that Huang Xuemei seemed to be the only one outside his door. Her aura seemed a bit shaky, perhaps due to injuries she hadn't recovered from, or perhaps due to excessive Qi depletion.

Huang Xuemei hadn't been his match to begin with, and now with such severe Qi depletion, she was even less of a match. So, Ye Xiu didn't have to worry about her harming him. He

quickly stood up and dressed, the whole process taking only a few seconds.

Then, Ye Xiu opened the door and saw a handsome man standing before him.

This man must be Huang Xuemei. She was wearing a navy blue robe, plain and simple, without any flamboyant decorations. Even the style of her clothing was, if anything, men's.

The relatively loose clothing made it difficult to discern her figure.

Huang Xuemei's face, however, was strikingly beautiful, possessing a certain air of heroic grace. However, her constant frown gave her complexion a subtle gloom.

However, her expression didn't strike her as sinister, but rather aroused a sense of pity.

Yet, a certain coldness permeated her brow, creating an air of indifference that made her seem unapproachable.

"Are you Ye Xiu from the Huashan Sect?" Huang Xuemei's eyes lit up when she saw the door open and a handsome man emerge. She was almost certain it was Ye Xiu.

Huang Xuemei had to admit, she had never seen a man so handsome.

Ye Xiu hadn't used any disguise techniques to alter his appearance. After all, his identity had already been exposed by Huang Xuemei, and further disguise would have been redundant.

"Yes, I am indeed Ye Xiu from the Huashan Sect. Miss Huang, please come in." Ye Xiu stepped aside and invited Huang Xuemei into the room.

Huang Xuemei stepped in without hesitation.

Ye Xiu closed the door behind him, then looked at Huang Xuemei with a more serious expression. "Miss Huang, how did you know I was here?"

"I learned about—" Huang Xuemei tried to bring up the diary, but as she tried, she found she couldn't bring herself to speak. As she tried to force herself to speak, a sense of crisis washed over her, as if she would perish if she did.

Huang Xuemei hadn't expected to be unable to bring up the diary with Ye Xiu.

"I'm sorry, I can't. But please forgive me, Brother Ye. I bear no ill will towards Ye Xiu." Huang Xuemei looked at Ye Xiu sincerely. She didn't want to cause Ye Xiu to misunderstand her by her unclear words, nor did she want to lie, which might lead to Ye Xiu seeing through her and causing him to take offense.

Ye Xiu frowned at Huang Xuemei. He was genuinely concerned, deeply concerned about why Huang Xuemei knew his identity and whereabouts. But Huang Xuemei refused to answer.

"Brother Ye, I swear to heaven that if I, Huang Xuemei, bear any ill will towards you, I will die a miserable death, my body torn to pieces!" Huang Xuemei even swore a vicious oath.

"I just want to know how you knew my identity and whereabouts. This is extremely important to me. If Miss Huang has no ill will towards me, please tell me," Ye Xiu said calmly, looking at Huang Xuemei.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. But please rest assured, Brother Ye, I'm the only one who knows this information. No one else in the world could know your identity and whereabouts through this channel. So, Ye Xiu, you don't need to worry about your whereabouts being leaked," Huang Xuemei assured him earnestly.

Hearing Huang Xuemei's assurance, Ye Xiu narrowed his eyes and looked at her, seeing her calm expression, truly without a trace of guilt.

So, is it really like Huang Xuemei said, that apart from her, no one else can know her identity and whereabouts through the information channel she knows?

"Miss Huang, what if I absolutely must know your source?" Ye Xiu looked at Huang Xuemei with a sense of pressure.

"I want to tell you, Brother Ye, but I really can't. It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. No matter how hard you push me, I just can't." Huang Xuemei shook her head, her voice serious.

"..." Seeing Huang Xuemei like this, Ye Xiu couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation. What Ye Xiu hated now wasn't the use of the Bewitching Technique to hypnotize Huang Xuemei, so he could extract the answers from her.

After all, this matter was incredibly important to Ye Xiu. If his information were leaked through this method, he might be captured by Pang Ban, or even be inoculated with a demon seed.

Ye Xiu didn't want to become Pang Ban's cauldron.

Unfortunately, while Ye Xiu had a wealth of martial arts skills, he wasn't particularly skilled in Bewitching Techniques and hypnosis. He had no means of hypnotizing Huang Xuemei. If

that method wasn't working, what about torture?

Ye Xiu had this thought in his mind, but looking at Huang Xuemei's expression, he felt that torture might not be effective.

"Ms. Huang, how about exchanging information with you? I know your brother's whereabouts. How about I use your brother's whereabouts to exchange with you?" Ye Xiu asked, looking directly at Huang Xuemei.

Huang Xuemei was immediately excited when she heard Ye Xiu talking about her brother. She even wanted to agree right away. Unfortunately, she had no way to tell him about the diary.