Jiang Ping An didn't ask any more questions and told Long Ya the address of Cultivation Room through God Sound Talisman.
Not long after, there was a knock on Cultivation Room's door.
Jiang Ping An opened the door, and Long Ya came over in a hurry.
She is still as beautiful and eye-catching as ever. She is wearing a fitted purple robe that outlines her graceful figure. Her exposed white legs and smooth arms are painted with flowing Purple Divine Rune, which adds a mysterious and slightly rebellious unique beauty to her.
"Is the injury healed?"
Long Ya looked him up and down, and said in a casual tone, "If you're ready, come with me to Hua Miao Lou. I heard that the girls there can pinch out the water one by one, and the wine they make is also excellent."
"What problem did you encounter?"
Jiang Ping An did not answer, but looked at the other party calmly.
He could clearly feel a hint of irritation hidden in the other person's brows, and he was obviously worried.
"What's wrong with me? I just want to drink and see beautiful women. It's boring to go alone. I want you to be my companion."
Long Ya's eyes flickered and he refused to answer directly. He took a step forward and took Jiang Ping An's arm and walked out, "Let's go, let's not dawdle."
Jiang Ping An Seeing that she didn't want to say anything, he didn't ask any more questions and allowed her to pull Cultivation Room away.
It didn't take long for the two of them to arrive in front of a particularly gorgeous and exquisitely decorated building.
The red lacquer door, the glazed tile roof, and the exquisite wind chimes hanging on the eaves make a crisp and sweet sound when the breeze blows.
Hanging on the door plaque are "Hua Miao Lou" with three flying phoenix characters, revealing the special Rules atmosphere.
The male and female attendants at the door all have outstanding looks and extraordinary temperament, and their cultivation levels are all above the god level.
They had just the right smile on their faces, neither flattering nor cold.
Entering the building, the light suddenly becomes soft and dim, creating a hazy and mysterious atmosphere.
There is a strange fragrance permeating the air. It is not strong or strong, but it makes people relax unconsciously and make them feel happy after inhaling it.
The interior decoration is antique, with carved beams and painted pillars, and lanterns and colorful decorations.
In the center of the first floor is a huge circular stage, made of some kind of shimmering jade.
On the stage, several dancers with graceful figures and beautiful faces were dancing to the melodious music of the piano.
Their dance is not just for entertainment. Each movement contains a special rhythm. The movement of their sleeves can move the world Rules.
Coupled with the alluring appearance and the beautiful piano music that echoes in the ears and reaches the soul, it is particularly eye-catching, making people involuntarily immersed in it and fascinated.
The stage is surrounded by rows of comfortable seats.
Many monks were drinking, sipping tea, enjoying delicious food, talking and laughing in low voices, and most of their eyes lingered on the stage.
Even Jiang Ping An couldn't help but admire it a few more times.
However, Long Ya, who always liked to admire beautiful women, had no interest in it at the moment.
She casually found an empty seat to the side and sat down, and directly ordered the attendant who came over quickly, "First, bring ten bottles of the best wine you have here!"
The wine came quickly, an amber liquid in a delicate white jade pot.
Long Ya held the wine bottle by himself, without using a wine glass, and poured two bottles directly into the spout.
A blush quickly appeared on her beautiful face, and after she became slightly drunk, she grabbed the arm of Jiang Ping An next to her and confided her true feelings.
"Oh, this imperial city is really difficult to get along with."
She sighed and began to talk about the troubles she had encountered recently.
It turns out that she has been subjected to a lot of overt or covert rejection within the Lan Clan Royal Family these days.
Not long after she entered the imperial city, people from several different factions within the royal family took the initiative to contact her, trying to win over her and promising various benefits.
However, there is no free lunch in the world, and behind any wooing is an exchange of pure interests.
They hope that she can marry a core member of their faction and completely bind her through marriage.
But Long Ya doesn't like men at all, he is only interested in beautiful girls, and he doesn't want to betray Lan Shi'er. How can he accept this kind of political marriage?
The marriage failed, and she made it clear that she was following Lan Shi'er Princess, which offended other competing factions within the royal family.
As a result, the person she had enthusiastically attracted suddenly changed her attitude, and no one paid attention to her anymore.
She wanted to attend the lectures of Array Master, a senior member of the royal family, but was refused entry on the grounds that it was an "internal course, not open to the public".
She wanted to enter Scripture Pavilion to read more advanced formation books, those really core and good formation books, but without the permission of the people above, she would not be given permission to read them at all.
There are also some Array Master who are always in a weird mood when they meet now, and their words are full of exclusion and contempt...
To sum it up, she has an empty name here, but does not get substantial resources and respect. She lives a very unhappy life and cannot practice normally.
After saying these depressing things, Long Ya had already poured five bottles of wine into his stomach.
"Don't tell Shi'er these things."
She told Jiang Ping An with drunken eyes, "That girl is very thoughtful and prone to overthinking. If she knows, she will definitely stand up for me, but it will affect her own emotions."
In the entire imperial city, Long Ya has very few people who can be called friends.
Except for Lan Shi'er, it seemed that she could only confide all her resentment and grievances to the man next to her.
Jiang Ping An picked up a white jade wine glass on the table, took a sip, savored it carefully, and commented:
"Well, this wine is indeed very good. It is pure and sweet, with a long aftertaste. It also has a special floral fragrance, which can slightly moisturize the body."
Long Ya, who was holding the sixth jug of wine next to him, suddenly heard this and slammed the jug on the table, making a muffled sound.
She turned her head and glared at Jiang Ping An, her tone filled with dissatisfaction. "Hey! Are you listening to me?! I'm telling you something bad!"
"Listen."
Jiang Ping An put down the wine glass, his tone still calm.
"Then this is your reaction? Shouldn't you say something nice to comfort me? Or are you not distracted at all and think these things about me are not worth mentioning?" Long Ya's voice rose a little.
"If comfort is useful, there will be no hatred or sadness in this world."
Jiang Ping An looked at her with calm eyes and said calmly, "You have had a smooth life growing up. Perhaps the biggest setback is that senior Dragon Chen has strict requirements on cultivation and weapon refining."
"But even so, most of the cultivation resources you obtained during your growth were still provided by the Dragon Family behind you."
"With your own Talent and some opportunities, you have been known as a genius very early, and you have been praised and admired by people around you. Over time, you have gradually accepted and become accustomed to the persona of 'Heaven's Chosen Daughter'."
"Your understanding of the world seems to be stuck at the level of 'you are a genius, so you should be treated kindly by the world'."
"However, the world is not like this, and it never revolves around one person. Exchange of interests, intrigues, flattery and contempt for others are the true operating logic at the bottom of the world."
"If I say something to comfort you now, or help you scold those who exclude you, it will have no practical effect except to make you feel better temporarily."
"You should be excluded, but you will still be excluded; the resources you can't get, you still won't get."
"You are no longer a child. The most important thing to do now is not to sit here and complain, but to learn to accept the injustice and malice of reality, then calm down and find your own way to break the situation."
"Either, choose to leave here and return to a place where you can be like a fish in water; or, choose to grit your teeth and persevere, and rely on your own ability to carve out a way out in this ostracism and criticism."
Jiang Ping An's voice is not high-pitched, but the words are clear.
He has experienced far darker and more desperate situations than this, and has complained in his heart about the injustice of heaven more than once.
But complaining only brings deeper confusion and pain.
Later, he chose to accept it.
Accept the dark side of the world, accept that the world itself has its disgusting and cruel parts.
After realizing this idea, he no longer had unrealistic illusions about the world. Instead, he turned himself into the sharpest sword, dedicated to cutting through all obstacles in the way.
Long Ya Listening to Jiang Ping An's cold nagging, he seemed to see his father. The more he listened, the more angry he became. He picked up the wine bottle on the table and prepared to throw it at him.
But her hand hung in the air and she was stunned for a long time.
His eyes changed from anger, to struggle, to a hint of understanding.
In the end, she didn't smash the jug down, but suddenly took it back, raised her head and poured all the remaining wine into her mouth, as if she wanted to swallow the unwillingness and grievance together.
"I just hate old men like you!"
She put down the empty wine bottle and wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand. Her tone was disgusting, but it was less irritable than before.
"He talks about reality and truth all day long, which makes people's heads hurt. It's very annoying! Come on, drink! After drinking this drink, I will go back to practice! Beat these bastards and let them see that even without them, I can still step on their heads!"
Long Ya is a smart person after all, and he can tell everything at once.
It's not that she doesn't understand some truths, she just needs someone to point it out from the side, or an opportunity to figure it out for herself.
Jiang Ping An said no more and drank quietly with Long Ya.
But this time, he controlled the amount and did not let himself get drunk.
He didn't want it to happen again like last time, when he woke up and found that he had made a mistake.
Long Ya seems to have really figured it out, and feels a lot more relaxed.
As she continued to drink, she began to truly appreciate the beautiful dancers on the stage.
From time to time, she clapped along with the rhythm, and even shouted to the stage, which attracted some side glances from the surrounding guests, which seemed very ungraceful, but she didn't care at all.
More than an hour later, the two of them drank countless bottles of wine, and there were a row of empty bottles on the table.
Long Ya finally couldn't drink anymore. He slumped on the chair, his eyes were blurred by drunkenness, and his speech was a little slurred.
"That's it for today, I'll take you back." Jiang Ping An stood up, still awake.
"No... hiccup... I want to be alone, you... you continue to drink yours."
Long Ya drunkenly pushed away Jiang Ping An's hand that was reaching out to help her, stood up unsteadily, and staggered towards Hua Miao Lou outside.
Jiang Ping An looked at her staggering back, but did not forcefully follow her to help her.
The other party is Second Level God King. In this imperial city, in broad daylight, there will be no real danger.
She needs a space alone at the moment to think about how to face life in the imperial city next.
Jiang Ping An sat back down, slowly finished the few exquisite side dishes that had not been touched on the table, and drank the remaining wine in the pot.
After making sure there was no waste, he stood up and prepared to leave.
As soon as he took two steps, a pretty maid in elegant clothes came up to him with a smile and blocked his way.
"Sir, please stay. The bill for your table has not been settled yet." The maid maintained a professional and sweet smile on her face.
"Didn't the woman who left just now pay?"
Jiang Ping An felt a thump in his heart and had a bad premonition.
"No."
The maid's smile remained unchanged and she clearly reported the fees, "The entry fee for the two guests is one Spirit King Pill for each person, a total of two; the dance viewing fee is one Hundred Flower Brew for each person, a total of two; plus the ten pots of 'Hundred Flower Brew' you ordered and these dishes, the total is two hundred and ninety-seven Spirit King Pill."
"I'll give you a zero and I'll give you two hundred and ninety-five."
"So expensive!"
Jiang Ping An was a little surprised.
At this price, you can almost buy a good king-level first-order Divine Weapon in the outside world!
The moment he finished speaking, there were two obscure and powerful auras nearby that locked onto him.
The God King-level guard responsible for security inside Hua Miao Lou was silently taking a few steps closer, his eyes alert.
In the entire imperial city, not many people dare to eat the Overlord meal at Hua Miao Lou.
The maid seemed to be used to this, she still smiled and said:
"Sir, the 'Hundred Flower Brew' you ordered is made by our Young Master who personally collected hundreds of kinds of sacred flowers and brewed it with Secret Art. The process is complex and the price is ten Spirit King Pill per pot. It is one of the signatures of this building."
Jiang Ping An's face twitched slightly, and he once again felt deeply that the prices in the Imperial City were outrageous.
All the Spirit King Pill on his body had been used up long ago for healing, and now only a few spare Divine Weapon and some materials were left.
He is going to ask if Divine Weapon mortgage is accepted here.
The maid seemed to be able to see through his thoughts. Before he could speak, she took the initiative and said:
"If you, sir, are short of money at the moment, we have a rule here. If your cultivation level reaches God King Realm and does not exceed Third Level God King, you can go to the backyard and try to challenge [Spirit Painting]."
"If you can successfully challenge and crack all Illusionary Realm, then not only will your current consumption be fully exempted, but you will also receive an additional three thousand Spirit King Pill provided by our Hua Miao Lou as a reward."
"Challenge Spirit Painting?"
Hearing this unfamiliar word, Jiang Ping An's eyes flashed with curiosity.
The maid patiently explained, "This is a small game specially set up by my Young Master to attract customers and add fun."
"Spirit Painting was hand-drawn by my Young Master. It contains three layers of extremely exquisite illusions. Those who can use their own strength to unlock all three layers of illusions will be rewarded."
"But..."
She changed the topic and said with a hint of reminder, "This game has been set up for several years, and there is an endless stream of talents coming to challenge it."
"But so far, within the entire imperial city, the number of people who can successfully break through all the illusions on Spirit Painting is no more than five fingers. It is quite difficult."