6 ：Rise（1 / 1）

thecapitalcityoflianwasabtlghubofactivity，filledwithrts，nobles，andonersallgogabouttheirdailylivestheairwasthickwiththestofexoticspidtheundoflivelychattersukie，hanfenglg，andiadetheirwaythroughthecrowdedstreets，theirheartsheavywiththeweightoftheirissiontheyhadsuessfullygatheredtellinceaboutthedarklord’spnsandnowofdawaytoshi

sukie’sdwasragwithpossibilitiestheyhadlearhatthedarklord’sneonwasbegstoredtheheavilyguardedpacettgcloseenoughtodestroyiouldreireacleverpnandfwlessexecutionastheywalked，sukie’seyesweredrawntoagrandbuildgadorhsilkbannersandtricatecarvgsiastheostfaobrotheliy，knownforitsbeautifulurtesansaravagantperforances

apoforsukie’sdsheturohanfenglg，hereyesfilledwithdeteratiotothepadithkiknowhowifigairytothebrothendbeeoheirurtesans，iightbeabletotclosetoohaesstothepace”

hanfenglg’seyeswidened“sukie，that’scrediblydanrothebrothelisfullofspiesandrantsifyou’redisvered…”

sukiepcedareassurghandonhisar“iknowit’srisky，butit’urbestcewedon’thavetitoeuithanotherpntrt，idothis”

hanfenglglookedtohereyes，seeierationandstrengthwiththehenoddedslowly，hisvoicefilledwithrelve“alright，we’lldoitbue’llstayclose，andifanythgg，we’lyououtofthere”

sukiesiled，gratefulforhissupport“thankyouiproisei’llbecareful”

theyadetheirwaytothebrothel，andsukieapproachedtheentrahfidehedooran，aburlyanwithascarrunngdownhischeek，eyedherspicioly

“whatdoyouwant?”hegrowled

sukiestraightenedherposture，exudganairoffidendgrace“iseekeployntasaurtesani’veheardthisisthefiestablishntiy”

thedooranraisedaneyebrow，clearlytrigued“wedon’ttakejtanyoneyou’llhaveroveyourself”

sukienodded，hervoicesteady“iuandi’ready”

heledherside，whereshewastroduada，ashrewdwoanwithakeealenttheadalookedsukieupanddown，hergazepierg

“whydoyouwanttoworkhere?”sheasked，hertoical

sukiethergazewithoutflg“ihaveskillsthatuldbevaabletoyourestablishnti’fidentieayourostdisgts”

theada’seyesnarrowed，butshenodded“verywellyou’llhaveatrialperiodifyouipress，you’llstayifnot，you’reout”

sukieagreed，aragbegaelythedaysthatfollowedweregruelg，filledwithlesnsdance，idversationsukie’sdeterationneverwavered，andsheicklyprovedherselftobeafastlearheotherurtesans，itiallywaryofthenewer，begantowartoherastheysawherdedicationandskill

assheirsedherselfhernewrole，sukiekepthertrueissionattheforefrontofherdsheogairtofthebrothel’sostiias，especiallythosewithestothepaesuchaslordowerfulnobleknownforhisextravaganttastesandclosetiestotheroyalfaily

thenightofherfirstperforancearrived，andsukiefeaixtureofexcitentandnervesshedressedastunngsilkgown，herhairadorhdelicateflowersasshesteppedontothesta，theroofellsilent，alleyeheicbegan，andsukieovedgracefully，hereveryotioncaptivatgtheaudienceshedahapassionandelegahatlefteveryoneawe，herperforanceaperfectblendofbeautyandskill

aftertheperforance，lordroachedher，clearlyipressed“ynifit，”hesaid，hiseyesfilledwithadiration“i’veneverseensuchgradtalent”

sukiesiled，herheartpoundg“thankyou，ylordi’honoredbyyourpraise”

lordweitookherhand，hisgazetense“i’dliketospendtiwithyou，ifyou’rewillgihaveaprivaterooupstairs”

sukie’spulseiedthiswastheopportunityshehadbeenwaitgfor“i’dbedelighted，ylord”

theyasdedthegrandstaircase，andsukiefollowedlordweitoavishlyderatedrooastheysettledontoapshuch，lordweipouredthebothagsfe

“toyourcredibleperforance，”hetoasted，raisghisgss

sukiekedhergssagasthis，herdragwithpossibilities“thankyou，ylordit’sanhonortoeaoneasdistguishedasyourself”

theychattedforawhile，lordweiclearlyenjoygherpanysukielistenedily，subtlysteergtheversationtowardsthepadthedarklord’spnsshelearhatlordweiwasdeedwell－ectedandoftenattendedprivategathergsatthepace

astheevengprogressed，lordweigreworefortable，andsukiesawhercesheleaned，hervoiceftandvitg“ylord，i’veheardruorsaboutaneonbegdevelopedthepacedoyouknowanythgaboutit?”

lordweichuckled，clearlypleasedwithhercuriosity“ah，thedarklord’ssecretprojectyes，i’vehearditeabitit’ssupposedtobecrediblypowerful，thgthatuldtheurseofthewar”

sukie’sheartraced“thatundsfasatgdoyouthkthere’sanywayiuldseeit?”

lordweiraisedaneyebrow，triguedbyherboldness“you’reitethecurioone，aren’tyou?perhapsiuldarranthgbutiouldreireabitofpersuasion”

sukiesiled，leangcloser“i’sureweetoanarra，ylord”

thenighttihadelicatedanceofwordsandsubtlepersuasionbytheendoftheeveng，lordweiwasthhlyented，andsukiehadsecuredhisproisetotakehertothepace

thefollogdayswereabrofpreparationandanticipationsukiekepthertrueiionshidden，atagherroleasadedicatedurtesanhanfenglgandireaedclose，readyttoaifneeded

fally，thedayarriveddressedherfigown，sukieapaniedlordweitothepacethegrandhallswerefilledwithopulendsplendor，butsukie’sfocwantheissionsheolocatetheonandfdawaytodestroyit

astheywalkedthroughthepace，lordweitroducedhertovarionoblesandofficials，eateradelicatebanceofcharandgsukie’sdwasstantlyw，analyzverydetaindgathergasuforationaspossible

eventually，theyreachedaheavilyguardedchaberlordweispoketotheguards，aeppedaside，allowirysukie’sheartpouheysteppediheroowasfilledwithtricateaeryandstraifacts，theairhugwithanotherworldlyenergy

“thisisit，”lordweisaid，hisvoicefilledwithpride“thedarklord’ssecretonisn’titagnifit?”

sukienodded，hereyessgtherooforanyvulnerabilities“it’scredible，ylordbuthowdoesiork?”

lordweibegantoexp，butsukie’sattentionwaselsewhereshespottedaserieftrolsandswitches，eaeglogwithafat，eerielightsheofdawaytodisabletheonwithoutarogspi

thkgickly，sukiefeignedafatgspell，lpsgtothefloorlordweirhedtoherside，hisnue

“sukie！areyht?”heexcid，hisvoicefilledwithworry

shegroaned，hervoiceweak“i’fe，ylordithktheexcitenasjttooue”

lordweihelpedhertoherfeet，histoutle“perhapsweshouldtyoofreshair”

sukienodded，alloghitoleadheroutofthechaberastheyexited，shesubtlydroppedasall，eohetrolsitowerfurtifactshehadacireddurirag，capableofdisruptgagiergies

astheywalkedthroughthepacegardens，sukiefeasenseofreliefthestonewouldactivateaatterofutes，rendergtheonelessshejtotoutofthepacebeforeaiced

lordweitiodoteonher，obliviotohertrueiionssukiepyedherroleperfectly，herdfocedontheissionastheyreturothebrothel，shefeasuroftriuphtheyhadsueededdisablgtheon，buttheirjourneywasfarfroover

bathesafetyoftheirarters，sukiesharedthenewswithhanfenglgaheirreliefandpridewerepalpable，buttheykhefighaswonthedarklordwouldnotbeeasilydefeated，andtheroadaheadwasstillfraughithdanr

astheypheirove，sukiefeadeepsenseofdeterationtheyhadefar，andtheirbondhadonlygrownstronrwithhanfenglgandi

byherside，shekheyuldfaychallen

tother，theywouldfightfortheirlove，theirfriends，aureofthekgdoofliahaheadwasua，buttheywerereadytofaceit，handhand，theirheartsunitedbyasharedpurposeandanunbreakablebond