"Ridiculous, simply ridiculous!"
"Is this really the Huan Hua Tower I know? How can just anyone get in now?"
"Even beggars are allowed in? What do you take the rest of us guests for?"
"Exactly. This place has gone downmarket. I'm never coming back."
"What a mood-killer. This is truly a mood-killer. The air here's already been polluted—reekingly foul, reekingly foul!"
As soon as Chen Changan and Xuan Wudao entered the Huan Hua Tower with Da Huang, they drew plenty of contemptuous looks and jeers.
In their eyes, though the Huan Hua Tower was a house of pleasure, it still wasn't a place just anyone could visit.
Wouldn't letting beggars in lower their own status?
"Want me to handle it, or you?" Xuan Wudao glanced at Chen Changan, his expression giving nothing away.
"I'll do it. There's no need to draw blood over something this trivial."
Chen Changan smiled faintly, then looked toward the others.
"You... what sort of status do you have?"
"I..."
Smack!
Before the man could answer, Chen Changan tossed a gold ingot straight at him.
"You..."
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
As gold ingot after gold ingot flew out, the people who had been fuming a moment earlier changed their tune.
Rich!
Damn, they were rich!
Now that was what it meant to beat someone with money!
"I'm nobody, nobody at all. Your lordship is the most noble, the most noble."
"Exactly, exactly. You smell wonderful—better than the girls in the Huan Hua Tower."
"I said it from the start. You two are clearly men of exceptional bearing, so imposing and dignified. We're no match for you, no match at all."
As they spoke, everyone bent down to pick up the gold ingots. Even the attendant nearby looked on with envy.
"That trick of yours is pretty good. How come I never thought of it?"
Xuan Wudao hadn't expected Chen Changan's solution to be so simple, but it was certainly entertaining.
"What would it matter if you had? Do you have any money?" Chen Changan asked scornfully.
"Well... where did you get all that money?"
Xuan Wudao was curious, too. To cultivators, this stuff was no better than dirt. Spirit stones were far more precious.
Ordinary cultivators didn't bother storing much gold and silver, but Chen Changan was different. Not only did he have some, he had a lot.
The gold he'd just used to pelt people with had amounted to at least ten thousand taels.
"I've lived a long time, so naturally I've built up some savings."
"Da Huang's lazy and loves to eat, as you know. Not every place uses spirit stones as common currency."
"So I've saved up quite a lot of gold ingots."
"Rough estimate... forget it, I can't remember. Anyway, it's a lot."
He couldn't remember? Just how much did he have?
The attendant was dumbstruck. What was with rich people these days? Did they like dressing up as beggars?
Did they enjoy being looked down on, just so they could spring a shocking reversal?
"Attendant, two of your best private rooms. Just bring us some hot water. We need to clean ourselves up properly."
"Right away, sirs. This way, please."
This was a walking god of fortune. The attendant didn't dare neglect him and hurriedly led the two men to the best private rooms upstairs.
After a quick wash, Chen Changan and Xuan Wudao both changed into clean clothes.
"Feels great!"
"Refreshing!"
"I haven't been this clean in three thousand years!" Xuan Wudao said with a hearty laugh.
Chen Changan and Da Huang looked at him with disdain, their eyes full of revulsion.
Disgusting!
Being told to act like a beggar didn't mean he had to stop bathing.
Hmm?
Stop bathing?
"Don't tell me you really went three thousand years without a bath?" Chen Changan asked in astonishment.
"If you're going to be a beggar, you have to look the part."
"If I bathed and got too clean, it would go against the whole point," Xuan Wudao said smugly.
"Then tell me, do beggars bathe or not?"
"Hmm? Well... do beggars bathe?"
Chen Changan's question left Xuan Wudao staring blankly. He, too, fell into confusion. Did beggars... bathe or not?
"Beggars are people, too. They're just poor. If they get the chance, they'd still want to bathe, wouldn't they?"
"You've been to so many brothels over the years. You never bathed once?"
"Damn, they still took you in even like that?"
"Were they that desperate for money?"
Just thinking about it made Chen Changan feel sick.
"What are you talking about? I'm not an ordinary person. How dirty could I get? I just hadn't bathed in a while, so I was feeling nostalgic."
"Anyway, we've washed up. Shouldn't we have some fun now?" Xuan Wudao said with a grin.
Have some fun?
Chen Changan reluctantly nodded, then left everything to Xuan Wudao. After all, this was his first time at a brothel, too.
Xuan Wudao showed just what it meant to be an old hand at brothels. He was smooth as could be.
He had the attendant call over all the Huan Hua Tower's finest girls.
"You don't need to look at me. I'm treating you, so help yourself."
When Xuan Wudao looked over at him, Chen Changan shook his head. To him, these women were nothing but vulgar beauties. He really couldn't understand how a man like Xuan Wudao could enjoy brothels.
"Then I won't hold back."
"You, and you, and you lot—stay."
"By the way, Da Huang, do you want one?"
You had to hand it to Xuan Wudao. Even at a time like this, he still remembered Da Huang.
And Da Huang suddenly looked bashful, as if a little embarrassed.
He looked at Chen Changan, then at Xuan Wudao, and finally slowly raised a paw.
"Sure, got it. That means yes."
"Um, you—go look after my good buddy Da Huang."
"Hm? Da Huang, what do you mean?"
After Xuan Wudao picked out a girl who looked suitable for Da Huang, he noticed that Da Huang shook his head.
In a place like this, Chen Changan wouldn't let Da Huang talk freely, and the poor fellow had been holding it in long enough.
Da Huang raised his paw again and shook it.
"I know what he means."
"He wants five."
What?
Five?
Only then did Xuan Wudao realize that raising his paw hadn't meant he wanted one. It meant five!
"Good, good! Da Huang, you're a kindred spirit, just like me."
"You five, go and take good care of my buddy Da Huang. Don't worry, I'll pay you well."
Though it was their first time looking after a dog, the girls didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
After all, looking after a dog was much easier than looking after a person.
At least this dog... wouldn't get handsy.
"Bring me all the best food and wine!"
"Don't worry about the cost. Your lordship has money."
Xuan Wudao was acting just like a nouveau riche, as if he wanted to make up for all the grievances of the past three thousand years in one meal.
Da Huang was grinning from ear to ear beside him. He hadn't expected to fit in so quickly—already, he and Xuan Wudao were in cahoots.
"Old Chen, you really don't want to join us?" Xuan Wudao asked curiously.
"Carry on. I'll just watch," Chen Changan said, shaking his head.
"All right, then. I won't worry about you."
Chen Changan shook his head helplessly. He'd never imagined a man like Xuan Wudao would sink this low.
Perhaps this was simply his nature, buried away by his former self.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir."
A cool, clear voice rang out, and Chen Changan couldn't help glancing over.
The woman wore a simple, elegant white dress and subtle makeup. She seemed somewhat out of place in a brothel like this.
She might not have been a peerless beauty, but there was something pleasing about her.
"Oh my, you two guests are lucky today."
"This is Xian'er, the Huan Hua Tower's leading lady."
"She doesn't see just anyone."
One of the women introduced her, though her tone was far from friendly.
"The leading lady?"
"Interesting!"
Before you continue