Charlotte's face turned slightly pale. Only now did she realize that her previous flirting hadn't gone unnoticed. Since the young sect master knew, the sect master must know even more. She wondered if this would lead to any negative consequences.

Emily Grant wasn't blaming her, though. Instead, she personally poured her a cup of wine and said, "Senior sister, your behavior has been unusual. It looks like you're eager to climb up, so you must have something on your mind. Can't you really tell me?"

James Carter also sighed inwardly. But he wasn't sighing for Charlotte, rather for Emily Grant.

He had now confirmed that this girl was only thirteen years old. In his world, if you start elementary school at eight, thirteen would only be fifth grade. Even if you started at six, thirteen would just be the first year of middle school—still a bunch of innocent kids, the kind who chase after TFBOYS and shout, "Our three little ones are so handsome!" But Emily Grant, who knew from what age, had been raised as the future sect master, bearing a heavy sense of mission on her shoulders. Just look at how mature she was, confiding in and solving problems for her subordinates—she could easily pass for twenty-three.

Only when she was eagerly listening to stories could you tell she was still a little girl.

Charlotte silently took a sip of wine and finally spoke: "Young sect master, Baihua Courtyard is about to go under."

Actually, James Carter had already noticed that Baihua Courtyard was really in trouble.

Just now, in the main hall downstairs, there really weren't many guests. The space was so empty that a single guest could practice boxing in the middle... This was evening, the peak time for brothel business, and yet it was this deserted.

Emily Grant was taken aback: "I heard there was still a profit a couple of months ago. Now it's just a slight loss, right? How could it be about to go under?"

Charlotte explained, "The competition in the capital is fierce, with more brothels than any other province. It used to be fine—our sect had the advantage of charm techniques and was considered top-notch. But now..."

Emily Grant asked in confusion, "Don't we still have that advantage now?"

Charlotte sighed, "In the end, we don't participate ourselves—we only teach the girls a little bit of the basics. But the disciples of the Hehuan Sect personally take part. Whether it's charm techniques or looks, they're far ahead of us..."

Emily Grant gritted her teeth, "Those sluts from the Hehuan Sect really go out and sell themselves!"

"They believe in indulging themselves and don't care about such things."

"So what are we supposed to do! In other people's eyes, we're lumped together with them! Our reputation has been ruined by them!"

Charlotte remained silent.

Emily Grant thought for a moment, then said, "But compared to other places, we still have the advantage, right? Even if the Hehuan Sect took some of our business, it shouldn't be enough to ruin us."

Charlotte shook her head. "Since we can't pass on our advanced techniques, just relying on those superficial charm skills, others figured them out years ago. Of course, other brothels can do it too. We've long since lost our edge."

Emily Grant finally fell silent as well.

Charlotte sighed, "What I'm worried about is... will the sect one day make us outer disciples take part ourselves? Judging by Aunt Qingqing's attitude, she's starting to consider it. That's why I want to leave here early, to avoid that day." She gave James Carter an apologetic smile as she spoke. "I did intend to use you, sir, but I meant no harm. I hope you can forgive me."

James Carter smiled to show he understood.

In his heart, he felt a bit regretful. She had a clear and urgent goal, so it would be hard not to sleep with her. If the time and place were right, maybe it really could have happened. What a pity.

Emily Grant said firmly, "Senior sister, you know our sect's principles are different from those Hehuan Sect people! Xingyue Sect would never do such a thing. It's disgusting enough to be mistaken for them—how could we actually do it? I'll talk to Aunt Qingqing about this."

Charlotte looked at her steadily. "And what then? The sect master may be invincible, but the sect still needs to eat and have resources. Should we learn from the Hengxing Dao and start robbing and killing for a living? The sect master spent over ten years painstakingly opening a foothold for us in the capital, so we could operate openly. If we really follow the Hengxing Dao, all that effort will be wasted. The sect master would never want to go back to hiding in the shadows. She might actually agree with Aunt Qingqing's proposal. After all... we're just outer disciples..."

At this point, James Carter was finally taken aback.

So, your Xingyue Sect and that Hehuan Sect aren't operating from the shadows, but are openly running as demonic sects—at least in the capital, it's all out in the open? That really surprised him. The image of "mysterious demonic sects" in his mind was completely overturned. Normally, since they're labeled as demonic, there should be constant friction with the orthodox sects, with deep blood feuds on both sides. If the demonic sects show themselves openly, the orthodox sects would surely gang up on them. Even if Alice Carter is invincible, most of their businesses would be destroyed—just like they mentioned earlier about their southern businesses being wiped out...

A demonic sect running businesses should be operating from the shadows, not out in the open. For them to be so unusually public, it must have something to do with the special nature of the capital—at the very least, they must have the court's permission, and the orthodox sects can't openly oppose them?

Does this mean the government is openly sheltering the underworld, or maybe the underworld is gradually being legalized?

But why wasn't this possible before, and now it is? James Carter continued eating while pondering. He didn't believe such a political matter was just because of Alice Carter's personal martial strength. Maybe there was something deeper to dig into here...