In a pleasure house, listening to the serene Bodhi Calming Heart Melody, Yin Shiren was truly one of a kind—like scorpion droppings, utterly unique.
Fortunately, Yan Wushuang's Peerless Pavilion had excellent soundproofing.
As the chief courtesan of the Heartless House, Yan Wushuang naturally wouldn't allow those who hadn't paid to hear her play. After all, only those who spent gold could enjoy her music.
And precisely because of the soundproofing, the Bodhi Calming Heart Melody did not leak out.
Otherwise, with Yan Wushuang's skill, anyone who heard it would have been forcibly calmed—their hearts stilled against their will.
Just imagining the guests, already on the brink of release, suddenly forced into tranquility… It was enough to make a man shudder.
Even Yin Shiren, being a man himself, couldn't help but tremble at the thought.
Truly, it was a terrifying notion.
Yet, realizing this, Yin Shiren felt an odd eagerness stirring within him.
But in the end, he dismissed the idea—he wasn't that depraved.
Meanwhile, Yan Wushuang remained oblivious to Yin Shiren's shifting thoughts.
Her full attention was on the pipa in her hands, her fingers gliding over the strings as she sought to steady her own restless heart.
For she, too, was puzzled.
Why was she like this today?
Though Yin Shiren's looks were rare—handsome beyond compare—she had seen others just as striking.
Take Murong Qing, master of the Heartless House—his beauty was no less than Yin Shiren's.
Yet, in Murong Qing's presence, Yan Wushuang had never felt this way.
So why, then, did Yin Shiren affect her so?
For a moment, she even wondered if she had fallen for another.
But no—she quickly suppressed the thought.
She loved Haoshao. She would never betray him.
And so, she played on, pouring her focus into the music.
As for Yin Shiren, he remained unaware of Yan Wushuang's inner turmoil.
Having suppressed his earlier wicked thoughts, he turned his mind to his own peculiar situation.
In the next instant, he summoned his system panel, scanning it meticulously for any clues.
Yet, after several passes, he found nothing—no traces, no answers.
Something felt incomplete about his system, as though parts were missing.
But since he had never known its original form, he couldn't say what was lacking.
With a sigh, he dismissed the panel.
Three pressing questions weighed on him:
The incomplete system.
Why, after aiding Ye Xiao Chai in defeating Tai Xue Zhu, had an overwhelming surge of Death God's Power appeared within him?
And most recently—his inexplicable effect on women.
From his encounter with Yan Wushuang and her calming music, he deduced it was likely a mind-influencing ability.
If a woman avoided looking at his face, the effect weakened.
And with a soothing melody to steady the heart, its hold could be further diminished.
After all, as a writer of Thunderbolt fanfics, though he had abandoned many, Yin Shiren still possessed keen observation and creativity.
Even so, he continued pondering possible causes.
Eventually, his focus settled on the Death God's Power within him.
His other energies—Buddha Essence and Divine Dragon Qi—were pure, righteous forces. They wouldn't produce such strange effects.
But the Death God's Power? It had a history.
After all, when Zhiyu Changxin donned the Luo Hou Imperial Seal, its bewitching influence allowed her to command countless experts—Yin Shiren and Ye Tuling among them.
"Wait… Zhiyu Changxin?!" Yin Shiren exclaimed.
At this thought, something clicked.
Yin Shiren's mind raced, replaying scenes from his rebirth in Glazed Immortal Realm.
For it was there that he had first met Zhiyu Changxin and Qing Shi Buhuihe.
Fortunately, his enhanced memory allowed him to recall every detail.
And upon reflection, he noticed something he'd previously overlooked—
The way the two women had looked at him.
Their expressions had been… off.
Similar to Yan Wushuang's reaction, though not as intense.
The more he recalled, the clearer it became.
Which led him to one conclusion:
This ability had been with him since rebirth.
"Did the system give me this 'perk'—or trap—because I've been single too long?" Yin Shiren mused.
"They say, 'With no women in the heart, the sword strikes divine,'" Yin Shiren muttered.
"But what man could resist such a 'gift'?" Yin Shiren sighed.
"Better to leave it for the readers, my noble 'godfathers,'" Yin Shiren chuckled.
"Still, Changxin and Buhuihe's reactions suggest the effect was weaker back then," Yin Shiren reflected.
Now, however, it had grown stronger.
"Could the Death God's Power have amplified it?" Yin Shiren wondered.
With that thought, he turned back to Yan Wushuang—still playing, still lost in her music.
But the moment his gaze fell upon her, her fingers faltered.
Meeting his eyes, her own glazed over once more, her body swaying unconsciously.
Then—Yin Shiren willed it.
A wisp of black energy flickered in his pupils—Death God's Power, deliberately summoned.
Thanks to his earlier qi deviation, he'd learned to harness traces of it.
And as that dark energy stirred, Yan Wushuang let out a soft, involuntary moan—
Like a spirit's whisper in the dead of night, deep in the mountains.
At this, Yin Shiren knew:
The power did intensify his influence.
"So it is tied to the Death God's Power," Yin Shiren concluded.
But as he mused, he failed to notice Yan Wushuang closing the distance—
Until her arms were around him, her hands roaming.
Only then did he realize:
"I've played too far," Yin Shiren groaned.
He couldn't simply push her away—her martial skills were no match for his, and brute force would injure her.
With a resigned sigh, Yin Shiren accepted his fate.
"Well… might as well enjoy it," Yin Shiren muttered.
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