He really had guessed it right. Mu Aotie was shocked and quickly lowered his voice even further. “Are you crazy? If Nie Rifu finds out about this, will we have a good ending?”
Yu Qing asked him in return, “You even dare to mess with Kunling Mountain, and you do not dare to mess with him?”
This comparison left Mu Aotie speechless for a moment, as he was never a man of many words.
And so, in this muddled way, he was forcefully dragged inside by Yu Qing.
Only after entering did he realise what was going on. Why was this Old Fifteen fellow so willing to spend money treating him this time, and even let him experience the luxury of the wealthy? No matter how he looked at it, something felt wrong.
An inn waiter, who was already sizing them up from head to toe, approached, so he could not say anything more.
He was still carrying a bundle on his back, containing the Scorpion Sect clothes the two of them had changed out of.
The inner lobby was spacious and lofty, with a refreshing and subtle fragrance. The four walls were exquisitely carved, and the lighting highlighted the magnificence.
The two martial brothers were still looking around with wide eyed wonder when the waiter had already walked up to them and said politely, “Sirs, how may I assist you?”
Remembering that he was here to splash money around, Yu Qing instantly adopted an arrogant posture, puffing out his chest and saying, “Accommodation.”
This demeanour looked like that of a major client. The waiter’s smile became even gentler, and he bowed slightly to invite them. “Esteemed guests, please come this way.”
The two martial brothers followed him to the counter. The manager opened a catalogue and pointed out the advantages of the locations of various rooms, letting the two choose.
Yu Qing’s gaze swept over the room prices. He found that the cheapest was already a full hundred thousand. The higher prices were staggering, so he did not even bother to look at them. He randomly pointed at the cheapest type and checked in right there. The waiter beside him could not help but glance at him with slight disdain. With that previous posture, he thought a big client had arrived. Although they did not look like wealthy people, this place did tend to attract nouveau riche coming to experience it.
Yu Qing, having reined in his wealthy air, pretended not to see him.
Another waiter came over and led the two to the rope ladder area in the inner hall.
Upon arrival, they looked up to see a large deep well. Ropes hung down from the sky like threads. The well shaft was dotted with a large amount of luminous stone, along with chains of various coloured lanterns hanging down. In the pit below, four bear demons with red glowing eyes stood guard in front of winches.
Swish! Suddenly, an object slipped rapidly down a rope from above, hitting the pit below with a ding sound. It was a metal weight like object. The nearest bear demon glanced at the number on the weight and immediately turned the winch. The corresponding half open rope box swiftly rose into the air.
The waiter also opened a rope box, invited the two inside, closed the frame door, and shouted downwards, “Seventh floor.”
The rope box beneath their feet moved, swiftly carrying the three of them upwards. It stopped steadily in front of the circular corridor on the seventh floor. The waiter opened the door, led the two out, and pointed to the weights marked with various numbers in the handrail grooves. He took out one marked with the number one, clipped it onto a hanging rope in front of them, and then let go. The weight slid down the rope with a swish, and the rope box quickly descended as well.
The waiter explained, “Drop a one down, and the rope box returns to the first floor.”
He then took out a seven, clipped it to the rope, and let it slide down. As the rope trembled, the empty rope box returned to them. He explained once again, “After entering the rope box, whichever floor you want to go to, just drop the number of that floor down.”
The two martial brothers nodded, having indeed broadened their horizons.
The waiter then led the two to their chosen guest room. As soon as the door opened, a full sense of luxury met their eyes.
The decoration was secondary. Inside, there were large and small rooms, a study, and a hall. The bathroom could be used for both showering and soaking. The windows were made of smoothly polished crystal. Pulling back the curtains allowed a clear view of the outside.
There were pull rings that, when tugged, would summon a waiter to serve. The luminous stone lighting and other things could also be controlled by a pull ring. The mechanism design was quite ingenious.
There were also hidden compartments in the stone walls concealing ice souls, ready to meet the guests’ needs for chilled food and drink at any time.
Some free fruit and alcohol were already placed on the table. Other desires could be accommodated as much as possible, but they would cost money. Yu Qing looked at the prices on the list and did not think about it any further.
Opening the back door revealed a terrace. Standing on the terrace was like standing on a cliff. The distance from the ground was quite high, offering a panoramic view of the Tianji Mountain scenery.
The downside was that there was no terrace facing the Hundred Zhang Courtyard. This floor would appear too low facing the Hundred Zhang Courtyard. After listening to the manager’s introduction, he decisively chose the one with an outward facing terrace.
After sending the waiter away, Mu Aotie picked up the food and drink list to have a look and shook his head repeatedly. “This is not eating food. It is simply eating money. It is more exaggerated than eating money.”
“Sigh!” Yu Qing also could not help but sigh. “Back then, my hundred thousand taels could keep tens of thousands of people alive in the mortal world. As a result, in this cultivation world, it is not even enough for someone else’s one night accommodation expense. There are so many impoverished people in the world. Sometimes I really do not understand. Those with assets of tens or hundreds of billions, can they even spend that much money? Their money could save so many people, yet they are unwilling to do so. Why is this?”
“Perhaps when you also have hundreds of billions, you will understand.” Mu Aotie changed the subject with one sentence and returned to the main purpose of their visit. “How can you be sure that this proprietress can definitely get the exam questions?”
Yu Qing said, “I cannot be sure, but we have to try.”
Mu Aotie pointed around with a face full of suspicion. “Spending a hundred thousand taels just for a try? When did you become so generous?”
Yu Qing asked him in return, “Do you not know how great the benefits of Bronze Sparrow Lake are? Compared to the possibility of tens or hundreds of billions, you are unwilling to invest a hundred thousand taels? Even if we know it will be a waste of money, we must try. With that much money, do you still need to pretend to be cold in front of women? Just throw money at them.”
The first half of the words made some sense, and Mu Aotie took them in. However, the second half made his face darken, and he said in a deep voice, “When did I ever pretend in front of women?”
Yu Qing hurriedly gave a dry laugh and waved his hands. “Just an example. I am just giving an example.”
Mu Aotie did not waste words with him. “Why on earth would she help you get the exam questions?”
“I have no clue either. Let us see the situation first.” As Yu Qing spoke, he crossed his arms over his chest, propped up one hand to twirl the small moustache at the corner of his mouth, and began to circle around Mu Aotie, his gaze repeatedly sizing him up and down.
Mu Aotie felt a bit creeped out by his stare and felt the wrongness even more obviously. He said in a deep voice, “What are you doing?”
“Old Nine.” Yu Qing patted his shoulder with one hand. “Say, if that proprietress takes a fancy to you, would we not have a chance?”
Mu Aotie waved his hand away and said in a bad mood, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Yu Qing said, “I am just saying what if. The current situation is unclear. The honey trap can at least be considered as a direction. What if she is into that?”
Honey trap? Mu Aotie widened his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching. He found it funny himself and tried hard to lower his eyebrows and eyes. “Look at my big bulky appearance. Do I look like someone who can be associated with a honey trap? In my opinion, you are more suitable than me. You should try this honey trap yourself.”
“What is wrong with being bulky? Different strokes for different folks. Maybe she is exactly into your type.” Yu Qing, looking cheerful, spread his hands. “As long as she can take a fancy to me, I absolutely have no problem. I never expected you to do it alone. We will both go up. Two options are placed in front of her. No matter which type she prefers, the possibility of success will always be higher.”
Although he said this, he actually had no intention of doing it himself. He felt there was no possibility between him and that kind of woman. Saying it together like this was just to ease Mu Aotie’s mind and facilitate his agreement.
He did indeed consider Mu Aotie’s robust male physique as one of the possibilities. The reason for this idea was that Nanzhu had brought honey obtained from the Mirror Flower Immortal Garden. It had been tested at Youjiao Port and was indeed contaminated with soul destroying pollen. It would be inconvenient to sell for money in the future.
Therefore, he felt it could be tried as a method. Of course, the most important thing was that using this method on the inn proprietress was quite suitable. Since she was already someone’s mistress, he would not have any psychological burden.
Mu Aotie frowned. “I say, Old Fifteen, what kind of rotten idea is this? Are we really going to degrade ourselves to doing such things? How can we face the ancestral masters of past generations?”
“Why did you not say this when we were dividing the money? No matter what kind of rotten idea it is.” Yu Qing repeatedly reminded him in his ear. “Hundreds of billions. That could be hundreds of billions. That woman is no decent lady. Is she worth us giving up hundreds of billions?”
Hearing this, Mu Aotie paused. Thinking about it, it was true. She was no decent lady. However, he still hesitated. “I am afraid it might not be useful.”
Yu Qing did not mention his plan to drug her, afraid that this Old Nine fellow’s hypocritical stubbornness would flare up again. He persuaded him, “If we try, there is still a possibility. If we do not try, there is not even a chance. The two of us will let her choose. If she takes a fancy to me, I will go. If she takes a fancy to you, you will go. If you are really unwilling, then you can go to Old Seven’s place to take over the shop, and swap Old Seven over here. Maybe that woman is into that type. What if she likes fat men?”
The corners of Mu Aotie’s mouth twitched again, looking at him as if he were a monster.
Yu Qing was unwilling to wait for him to ponder slowly. “Agreeing or not is just a matter of one sentence. However, let me say the ugly truth first. Once it succeeds, you will not get a share of the Bronze Sparrow Lake profits.”
Mu Aotie said indifferently, “Fine, let us try. Anyway, I think your method is unreliable.”
On the top floor of Shixin Residence, Lian Yu lay on a lounge chair, holding a scroll and reading it slowly. Her charm revealed an elegant aura.
In the quietness, hurried footsteps approached. Hu Niu arrived quickly and knelt half way beside the lounge chair, smiling. “Proprietress, that Zhang Zhichen has arrived. He actually stayed in our inn.”
Lian Yu moved the book from in front of her eyes, turned her head to look at her, and said in surprise, “Is he not paying attention to the Bronze Sparrow Martial Affairs? Why did he suddenly come here to stay? Could it be that he is also someone trying to get the exam questions from me?”
Over the years, for the sake of benefits, smart people who tried every possible way to scheme were not just Yu Qing. She had experienced similar matters more than once or twice. However, she had never made the handling of them public. After all, this was a place open for business. One could not rely purely on background. There had to be some harmony, at least to some extent.