Inside the Practice Hall was quite spacious, however, there was strangely no furniture present. The floor consisted of smooth wooden boards that felt warm to one's touch. The only decoration was the fantastical mural of a blooming orchid tree on the wall to the left of the entrance. It was large, taking up the entire wall, and would immediately draw the attention of anyone upon entering.
Currently, in front of this mural, there were over a dozen girls seated on the floor in various positions. Some were sprawled out on the ground looking up at the ceiling, while others were comfortably lying on each other's laps.
Each of these girls wore loose red robes that flowed across their bodies and hid their figures. Only their pale white hands and bare feet could be seen sticking out from the robes. As for their appearances, they were without a doubt captivating beauties.
A male disciple of the Cult stumbling upon this scene—if they had not thought this garden was a paradise upon entering the valley, this scene would have sent their mind spinning and their blood rushing to their heads.
Ah, maybe it would be rushing in the opposite direction?
As the group of girls lazed around on the wooden floor of the Practice Hall while chatting with each other, crisp bell-chime-like giggles erupted from them ever so often, filling the entire Practice Hall with a warm and pleasant atmosphere.
"Oh, Elder Sister is back!"
One of the girls said, interrupting the group's conversation. They all then turned to look at the double doors of the Practice Hall's entrance to see President Kim entering with her hands tucked inside her sleeves.
"Wait, who's that with her?"
Suddenly they saw two individuals following behind President Kim. They especially focused on the boy, and quite quickly their demeanor shifted, going from extremely relaxed while lying on the floor to compose elegance as they stood up.
However, their reactions were a bit too slow, Xiao Mo had already witnessed their embarrassing appearance.
President Kim chuckled at her Junior Sister's reactions and said.
"You've already been caught, why bother pretending now?"
All the girls blushed at those words, but one of them who was at the front cutely pouted and said indignantly.
"Elder Sister, it's your fault for not warning us in advance that you were bringing guests into the Practice Hall."
The others all nodded their heads sharing similar sentiments.
President Kim with a smile still on her face said.
"It was an unplanned visit, so I wasn't able to warn you girls in advance. But I've said multiple times that the Practice Hall is not a leisure club; you should be practicing your guqin."
"But Elder Sister, we've done nothing but practice, we should at least relax when we have the chance!"
"That's right Elder Sister. We can't be as relaxed while we are in the Sect. The boys are always making unwanted advances towards us, keeping us on edge."
As she stopped in front of the girls, President Kim shook her head and said.
"Indeed, that is the case, but that is not the real reason. The real reason is that you think the Teachers in the Academy are too strict. You girls just want to come here and slack off."
Hearing their true feelings being revealed, all the girls pouted in defiance, especially when they thought about their Elder Sister saying this in front of guests.
To change the topic, one of the girls asked a question.
"Elder Sister, who is this person? Is he here to listen to us practice?"
President Kim turned and introduced Xiao Mo and Mei-Mei.
"This is Young Master Han Xiao Mo, the Third Young Master of the Han Clan, and his maid. Young Master Xiao Mo came to visit our Cult due to his arranged marriage with our Young Miss. He is a distinguish guest, so politely greet him."
At their Elder Sister's prompting, all the girls did a curtsy bow as they greeted Xiao Mo.
"Greetings Young Master Han Xiao Mo."
Xiao Mo cupped his fists and returned the greeting. However, in his heart, he was feeling a bit uneasy. He had never been in a situation like this before, and given his reputation, he didn't know what was going to happen.
Seeing how the girls were staring at him intently while whispering to themselves, Xiao Mo decided to extend his senses towards them. Soon his ears picked up on what they were whispering about.
However, it was unlike anything Xiao Mo had imagined.
"So that's Elder Sister Mai's fiancée? Why is he dressed like that?"
"Right, it's so funny, it looks like he just walked right out of bed."
"Actually, it doesn't really matter how he dresses, can't you see his face? I never knew someone could be so handsome!"
"True, but I don't think handsome is a good enough word to describe him, maybe monstrously divine?"
"That sounds good, but how about calling him a heavenly being?"
"Hm, those all are good names, but haven't you heard about the rumors going around about him? They say he visits brothels and sleeps around with every beauty he sees walking down the road."
"I heard those rumors too. They also say he's quite arrogant and would use his status to bully others because he can't cultivate."
"Wah! Are there those kinds of rumors going around? But are they true? Why would he visit a brothel to find a woman when he looks like that?"
"Yeah, that's right. If anything, couldn't he pick and choose from any girl he wants with his face? If he wasn't someone else's fiancée, even I would make a move on him. So what if he can't cultivate?"
"Well, I don't know if those rumors are true or not. I just heard them in passing."
"Those rumors only started spreading after Elder Sister Mai's engagement to him was announced. I think someone is just trying to stir up trouble!"
"Really? But I heard his debauchery was well-known in Jianghu even when he was young."
"Then that only means someone was spreading false rumors about him since he was young, how can someone be so heartless?"
"Wait a minute, aren't you take his side too easily? What if the rumors are true?"
"If they are true? Well, I can't blame him if he sleeps around with women, just look at his face! But if they really are true, then I only hope he stops after marrying Elder Sister Mai."
As Xiao Mo listened to the gossip of these girls, his face alternated between laughter and embarrassment. Maybe they thought he couldn't hear them because they were using their Internal Qi to suppress their voices, but his cultivation was higher than theirs, so it was no different than if they were loudly shouting next to his ears.
President Kim suddenly cleared her throat to interrupt the girls before they could embarrass themselves even more. After getting the girls to quiet down, she said.
"Young Master Xiao Mo isn't here to listen to your practice, he's here to take the test to join our Red Orchid Garden."
"Eh?!"
Several exclamations of surprises could be heard echoing in the Practice Hall from the girls. Then, as if realizing something, one of them said doubtfully.
"But Elder Sister, isn't it a requirement to be in the Innate Master Realm to take the test? Since Young Master Xiao Mo can't cultivate, wouldn't it be better to let him join using the easier test like the one we took?"
President Kim upon hearing this didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After a moment of silence, she said.
"Don't always believe rumors you hear going around, Young Master Xiao Mo can cultivate just fine, and he's met the requirements to take the test."
"Eh!??"
Immediately another round of surprise exclamations echoed from the girls before they all turned to look at Xiao Mo. They were all absolutely mortified at the thought that his cultivation base was higher than theirs.
"I-I just forgot that I had something to do! Elder Sister I need to leave!"
A girl suddenly said from the crowd before she hurriedly rushed towards the exit.
Even though she had her head down as she passed, Xiao Mo could see that her face was completely red.
A few more girls similarly felt too embarrassed after realizing Xiao Mo might have overheard their earlier words and decided to make a quick escape.
Xiao Mo didn't know what to say, he had been in similar situations before but the girls in question had never found out that he could hear them, so despite the similar situation, it was somewhat new to him.
After a while, Xiao Mo could only manage to force a smile and try to act as normal as possible. Though his slightly flushed face made it obvious to the girls he had overheard them.
This in turn made the girls even more embarrassed, resulting in the hall falling into a prolonged awkward silence.