The Old Courtesan of Fate Comes Pavilion

Fate Comes Pavilion.

The pavilion had three floors and ten thousand treasures.

The moment Su Qing stepped inside, the dazzling array of Spiritual Materials and Items on the first floor alone left him overwhelmed. Many of them were things that interested him.

"Fellow Daoist Su, it has been quite some time since you last visited. Our shop recently received quite a few new goods. Take your time looking around. If you need anything, come find me!"

A plump, beautiful middle-aged woman sidled up to Su Qing and greeted him warmly.

"Fellow Daoist Wang thinks too highly of me. This humble Daoist cannot afford the goods in Fate Comes Pavilion."

Su Qing waved at Wang Rong, indicating that he was a Wretched Ghost. Though Fate Comes Pavilion's high-end goods looked nice, they were brutally overpriced, far less affordable than those at Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Seeing that Su Qing had no intention of buying anything, Wang Rong curled her lips, and the smile on her face immediately faded somewhat.

In her youth, she had been the most popular Courtesan of Red Sleeve Pavilion. Later, as age dimmed her beauty, she relied on her skills as a Skilled Diplomat to promptly transition to Fate Comes Pavilion. After much scrambling and striving, she had risen to the position of Vice Pavilion Master.

She had always been in the business of making others part with their money. Could she possibly fail to tell who had money and who did not?

She and Su Qing could be considered old acquaintances. Over the past half year, this Tier 1 Puppet Master had come to Fate Comes Pavilion several times to sell Puppet Materials, each time leaving with several thousand Spirit Crystals.

She knew those materials came from Hundred Treasures Pavilion. It was not unusual for Puppet Masters to make money through materials; even Fate Comes Pavilion's guest Puppet Masters could not avoid reselling materials from Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Both Hundred Treasures Pavilion and Fate Comes Pavilion tacitly understood this. The two shops would even compare accounts with each other, using them to estimate the approximate Success rate of each Puppet Master, Talisman Master, and Artifact Refiner. That way, when placing orders with them next time, they could appropriately provide a little less material.

From the materials Su Qing had sold her, she calculated that his Success rate in refining Tier 1 Lower grade Puppets was at least above forty percent, while his rate for Tier-1 Mid-Grade ones exceeded twenty percent. Such a Success rate stood like a crane among chickens among Tier 1 Puppet Masters. Compared to certain Puppet Masters who had advanced to Tier-2 through obscure runes, he was no less impressive.

No one would believe that such a Puppet Master lacked Spirit Crystals. Unfortunately, no matter how Wang Rong's tongue blossomed into lotus flowers, Su Qing remained unmoved. Not a single Spirit Crystal he had earned from Fate Comes Pavilion had been spent within Fate Comes Pavilion.

It had made her grind her teeth in anger, yet there was nothing she could do.

"What, does Fate Comes Pavilion only sell goods now and no longer buy them?"

Su Qing ignored the resentment on Wang Rong's face and asked with a smile.

"We buy! Why would we not? We'll take however much you have!" Wang Rong said grandly. Buying goods was not as profitable as selling them, but even a mosquito was still meat. She had no reason to refuse.

The two entered a Private Room, and Su Qing poured out a heap of materials from his Storage Bag with a clatter.

Wang Rong, who had been absentmindedly preparing to have someone weigh the goods, changed expression upon seeing the materials.

"Th-these are materials for refining Demoness Puppets, aren't they? I never expected these Demoness Puppets to come from your hands, Fellow Daoist. We thought Hundred Treasures Pavilion was taking a loss just to make a name for itself, deliberately currying favor with Cloud Mountain Sect."

Wang Rong could not be blamed for her surprise. Recently, Demoness Puppets had appeared at Auctions in major Markets throughout the territories of Cloud Mountain Sect and Desiring Demon Sect. Because they struck certain cultivators' xp, they had become highly sought after. Though merely Tier-1 Mid-Grade Puppets, they could sell for the price of Tier-1 High-Grade ones.

Because the Biomimetic Runes upon them were recognized throughout the Cultivation world as among the most difficult runes to draw, many cultivators assumed that Puppets like these could only be refined by Tier 2 Puppet Masters.

Yet asking a Tier 2 Puppet Master to refine Tier 1 Puppets was rather uneconomical. Therefore, Fate Comes Pavilion had assumed Hundred Treasures Pavilion could only lose money on this business and had no intention of hiring a Tier 2 Puppet Master to keep up with it.

But now, once Wang Rong learned that these Demoness Puppets came from Su Qing's hands, she understood that Hundred Treasures Pavilion had made a killing from this deal!

Her beautiful eyes shifted, and her seductive charm surfaced again. Smiling brightly, she said to Su Qing,

"Fellow Daoist's Puppet Master techniques are so superb that serving as a guest of Hundred Treasures Pavilion is beneath your talents. Why not come to Fate Comes Pavilion? I can guarantee that the benefits of becoming a guest of Fate Comes Pavilion will certainly be no less than those at Hundred Treasures Pavilion."

"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist. Though this humble Daoist is merely a Rogue Cultivator, I still understand the principle that one body should not serve two masters. Shopkeeper Liu has treated me well, so I will not come to Fate Comes Pavilion to make a fool of myself."

Su Qing had no interest whatsoever in Wang Rong's recruitment. Hundred Treasures Pavilion's influence was indeed weaker than Fate Comes Pavilion's, but compared to Hundred Treasures Pavilion, which placed few restrictions on its guests, Fate Comes Pavilion imposed far more constraints.

For instance, Fate Comes Pavilion's guests could only sell Puppets approved by Fate Comes Pavilion. If they sold Puppets without authorization, the War Cultivators raised by Fate Comes Pavilion were extremely cruel in their treatment of subordinate guests.

Su Qing could not accept that condition alone, so he could only refuse coldly.

However, Wang Rong was provoked by Su Qing's remark about one body not serving two masters. She assumed he was mocking her, and throughout the subsequent sale, she did not show Su Qing the slightest bit of kindness.

Su Qing had not wanted to explain. After all, Wang Rong merely received customers at the front desk of Fate Comes Pavilion and possessed little authority. Yet he also felt that the King of Hell was easy to meet, while little demons were difficult to deal with. To avoid unnecessary trouble when selling goods in the future, after receiving more than 3,400 Spirit Crystals in payment—

He painfully bought a Tier 1 Lower grade Dharma Robe, adding 1,800 Spirit Crystals to Wang Rong's sales record. Only then did the old Courtesan of Red Sleeve Pavilion put her smile back on.

Damn it, she changed faces so quickly. She must have done that on purpose just now. With sales skills like that, no wonder she became Vice Pavilion Master!

More than half the Spirit Crystals he had just received vanished in the blink of an eye, and Su Qing could not help feeling pained. But then he remembered that he genuinely needed this Dharma Robe, and his mood quickly recovered.

The moment he stepped out of Fate Comes Pavilion, he put the Dharma Robe on.

The Tier 1 Lower grade Dharma Robe had all kinds of runes inscribed within it, which could be combined to form numerous Tier 1 Daoist arts such as the Cleansing Art, Bodyguard Art, Evil-Warding Art, and Waterproofing Art. Its functions were extremely practical, making Su Qing feel much better.

Seeing that it was not yet late, he hurried to the Stall Area. He borrowed Half an Hour of a stall from the Old Daoist Selling Talismans, set out two Demoness Puppets, and began calling out his wares.

But after setting up for more than Half an Hour, plenty of people asked the price, yet not a single sale was made.

Just as Su Qing began to wonder whether the Market's recent tense atmosphere had made cultivators unwilling to spend money on their desires—

He looked up and saw a Spirit House standing in a corner of the Stall Area, divided into more than ten Private Rooms.

Male cultivators stood in a long line outside, while three to five beautiful Female Cultivators at the front of the line smiled as they welcomed and saw off guests.

Atop the Spirit House, a beautiful Female Cultivator sat in a reclining chair, leisurely cracking melon seeds. Suddenly, her gaze met Su Qing's. Her eyes lit up, and she descended beside him like the wind.

"I was just looking for you! This Passion Puppet business is so easy to do, especially the Demoness Puppets. Five Spirit Crystals per session, and those male cultivators do not even bargain. Give me a few more—they must all be Demoness Puppets!"

Seeing the gleam in Tang Wanqing's eyes, Su Qing finally understood why his Demoness Puppets would not sell.

A Demoness Puppet costing three to five hundred Spirit Crystals was simply too expensive for ordinary cultivators.

But if five Spirit Crystals could let them taste a Demoness's charms, ordinary male cultivators were truly willing to pay!