The aphrodisiac Wang Jingyuan had concocted according to the formula in the Bixie Sword Manual was incredibly potent.
Tian Boguang couldn't control himself at all. He went straight to riding hard in the main hall downstairs. This was the Ming Dynasty, after all, not some abstract era like the Wei and Jin dynasties. People at this time still cared about their reputations.
Having sex in broad daylight was bad enough, but doing it in a brothel's main hall, right in front of everyone, was something else entirely. The patrons drinking and enjoying the courtesans all declared:
How exciting! I love it!
Tian Boguang was, after all, someone capable of instantly defeating an uncle-level master of the Mount Tai Sect, a clear testament to his formidable martial arts. He could effortlessly pull off positions that ordinary people would find impossible, and his stamina was astonishing.
Once he got started, it became a nonstop live show of the highest caliber. If Tian Boguang had lived in Europe or Southeast Asia centuries later, he could have supported an entire theater all by himself. Even in Japan, he would have been considered a godfather in certain industries.
The patrons in the main hall no longer felt like enjoying the courtesans. They all crowded around to watch Tian Boguang take on one challenger after another. Whenever something particularly impressive happened, the crowd applauded and cheered. Every time he successfully defeated an opponent, they raised their cups to celebrate.
Wang Jingyuan's banknotes had originally been meant to book all the available courtesans, but when the patrons got caught up in the excitement, they started pushing the women beside them onto the "stage"...
In a private room on the second floor, everyone calmly ate their meal. It was mealtime, after all. The other three were fine, but Yilin was deeply uncomfortable. The reason was simple: Tian Boguang really was astonishingly potent.
The screams of his defeated opponents carried all the way up to the second floor. At first, when Yilin heard them, she thought Tian Boguang was attacking people downstairs. She hurried out of the private room to stop him.
But she came back a short while later, her face red.
Lin Pingzhi had ordered wine with the meal, but Linghu Chong was the only one drinking. He finished one jar of fine wine and ordered another. Usually, drinking would get him bragging, but today he was unusually quiet.
Not only quiet, he was also restless, shifting in his seat and glancing around without daring to look at Yilin. Seeing him like this, Wang Jingyuan understood.
Linghu Chong had only drunk one bowl, but even that bowl contained some of the aphrodisiac. Wang Jingyuan patted him on the shoulder. "It's daytime, and there aren't many guests here yet. There are still plenty of empty rooms. If you're feeling too pent up, I suggest you..."
Before Wang Jingyuan could finish, Linghu Chong slapped his hand away and lectured him righteously. "Junior Disciple Brother, we're disciples of an honorable sect. How could we do something so low and despicable?"
Wang Jingyuan frowned. "How is taking a cold bath low and despicable?"
Linghu Chong looked embarrassed. "I thought you meant... I misunderstood you."
"Oh, you thought I'd arrange a girl for you, huh? In your dreams. If I can't enjoy myself, what makes you think I'd let you?" Wang Jingyuan called over a servant and asked him to prepare a cold bath for Linghu Chong.
Wang Jingyuan calmly continued eating and drinking, then turned to Yilin. "Little Master Yilin, things took a roundabout path, but I did save you, didn't I?"
Yilin immediately nodded. "Senior Brother Linghu and Senior Brother Wang, I will forever remember your great kindness."
"Remember it?" Wang Jingyuan didn't seem satisfied. He looked at Yilin and said, "Do I look like the sort of person who'd expect something in return for a favor?"
Yilin shook her head repeatedly. "Senior Brother Wang certainly isn't that sort of person."
Wang Jingyuan suddenly laughed. "Then you've misjudged me. I've discovered that if I don't ask first, the NPCs here simply won't give me quest rewards.
"But as long as I ask, the form of the reward can be quite flexible. So these days, my favorite thing is getting people to repay their debts of gratitude!"
With that, Wang Jingyuan took out a small notebook and a charcoal pencil, then began writing furiously: "This certifies that Yilin, a disciple of the Hengshan Sect, was saved by me from harm at the hands of the lecher Tian Boguang. She now owes me one favor. Upon presentation of this certificate, Yilin, her teachers, and her immediate family members must repay that favor once."
After finishing, Wang Jingyuan handed the notebook to Yilin. "Take a look. If you have no objections, sign and put your seal on it."
Yilin had never heard of such an arrangement, but she was innocent and simply believed that people ought to repay kindness. So she signed the certificate.
Wang Jingyuan looked at the certificate with satisfaction, dusted it off, and carefully put it in his Inventory. Used normally, this thing could summon one of the Three Ding. Used in an unconventional way, it could even summon Master Bujie.
Tian Boguang could defeat an uncle-level master of the Mount Tai Sect, but Master Bujie, who had castrated Tian Boguang in the original story and trained him into Yilin's pet, was in a league of his own. In the original story, he had even saved Tian Boguang from Yue Buqun's sword by simply throwing a shoe.
Wang Jingyuan even suspected that Master Bujie could take on any current leader of the Five Great Sword Sects. He would probably only have some trouble dealing with Zuo Lengchan.
With Yilin's matter settled, Wang Jingyuan turned to Lin Pingzhi. "Your father knows the formula for the medicine Tian Boguang took. Once Tian Boguang is nearly done, go downstairs and promote it.
"Your Fuwei Escort Agency has branches in several provinces, and your escorts travel all over the country. Selling some medicine would be a perfect way to bring in extra income. Oh, and the money from selling it needs to be included in the revenue-sharing arrangement."
Lin Pingzhi looked troubled. "Senior Brother, you want me to hawk this medicine in a brothel?"
Wang Jingyuan patted his shoulder, exasperated. "If you don't promote it in a brothel, where else are you going to do it? Outside the Twelve Eunuch Offices? And don't look down on this medicine. From ancient times to the present—and even into the future—virility has always been one of men's greatest concerns. The business potential is enormous.
"Come closer. I'll teach you a few marketing tricks. Remember to use them later."
Seeing how seriously Wang Jingyuan spoke, Lin Pingzhi realized he wasn't joking. He could only smile wryly and memorize the advertising slogans Wang Jingyuan taught him.
Wang Jingyuan waited a little longer, until the commotion downstairs finally stopped. Then he led Lin Pingzhi downstairs. Tian Boguang was completely spent by then. He might have been skilled in martial arts, but doing this so much was still exhausting.
Seeing Tian Boguang lying on the main hall floor, drenched in sweat and looking like a withered flower, Wang Jingyuan helped him up. He couldn't die here. If he died here, how could they sell the medicine?
Besides, even if Tian Boguang was going to die, they had to get some more value out of him first.
"Goodness, Brother Tian, you really are amazing. If you'd been around a few hundred years later, you could've applied for a Guinness World Record." Wang Jingyuan picked up the short sword Tian Boguang had dropped in the hall and supported him all the way to a private room on the second floor.
Lin Pingzhi was left alone in the main hall of Qunyu Garden, loudly shouting, "One dose sharpens your mind and wakes you up! Two doses keep you going without fatigue! Three doses grant you eternal life!"
On the way back to the private room, Wang Jingyuan had placed his hand on Tian Boguang's pulse. He could no longer feel any Internal Energy. His pulse was also like a candle flickering in the wind—he didn't have much time left.
Once they entered the private room, Wang Jingyuan sat Tian Boguang down on a chair. Yilin flinched backward in fright. But then she saw the way Tian Boguang looked at her. His eyes were nothing like before. They were as still as an ancient well, utterly calm, as if all his worldly desires had vanished.
Tian Boguang turned to look at Wang Jingyuan. "I spent my life hunting geese, only to have one peck my eye out. There are far too many people in this martial world who want to kill me. I never imagined anyone would use a method like this to kill me. It's... it's impossible to guard against..."
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