Su Derong led Chen Jianghe to a stop beneath the gilded signboard bearing the words "Zuichun Brothel."
The building rose three stories high, with sweeping eaves and interlocking brackets. Copper bells hung from the corners of the roof, chiming softly in the breeze, their clear notes mingling with the faint strains of silk and bamboo instruments drifting from inside to create an air of bustling prosperity.
"This is the place." Su Derong waved his fan and winked at Chen Jianghe. "I'm going to show you what they call 'Inner City nourishment.'"
The two climbed the steps. As they walked, Su Derong said, "Don't even think about refusing today. The game at Zuichun Brothel is nothing like the livestock they raise in the Outer City. It's all exotic beasts hunted deep in Black Wind Ridge, brimming with vital energy. Eat it, and it'll strengthen your sinews and bones and boost your strength. For martial artists like us, it's the real deal!"
Chen Jianghe looked up and took in the place.
The interior was decorated with exquisite taste. The nanmu tables and chairs gleamed like mirrors, ink paintings hung on the walls, and seasonal chrysanthemums bloomed in celadon vases in the corners.
A sharp-eyed waiter spotted Su Derong and hurried over with a welcoming smile. "Sirs, shall I show you to a private room upstairs?"
Su Derong waved him off and strode inside as if he knew the place by heart. "Our usual spot, the street-facing private room on the second floor. The usual dishes, and a bottle of ten-year-aged Spring Burn Wine."
"Right away, Master Su! Please wait just a moment."
The two took their seats in a private room by the window.
The window looked out onto the main street of the Inner City, offering a clear view of the crowds and passing carriages.
Before long, four young women in pale green silk dresses came in carrying wine pots.
All were sixteen or seventeen, with delicate features and light, graceful steps.
The woman in front poured with elegant hands. The wine streamed into the cup, clear and bright, its fragrance crisp and enticing.
"Please enjoy, sir." Her voice was soft and sweet. She bowed, then stepped aside to wait, her gaze lowered and her manner respectful.
Su Derong raised his cup and took a sip, smacking his lips. "Fragrant. This Spring Burn Wine is cellar-aged at the Zhang Family Winery. They only make a hundred or so jars a year. Ordinary folk don't get to drink it."
Chen Jianghe did as he was told and took a small sip.
The wine was crisp and clean. A thread of warmth slid down his throat, then spread through his limbs and bones, stirring his vital energy.
"Excellent wine." Chen Jianghe set down his cup and said sincerely.
"The wine is good, but the food is even better." Su Derong tapped the table with the spine of his fan. "Just wait. The Exotic Beast Meat will be here any moment."
Before long, the dishes began arriving one after another.
They weren't served in large platters or bowls, but in small, delicate dishes.
One held steamed bear paw, its flesh translucent and glistening beneath an amber-colored sauce;
another held stir-fried leopard heart, sliced thin and tender-red as flame, with emerald-green wild vegetables;
there was also sparrow liver soup, its broth milky white and the liver tender as tofu;
and several stir-fried seasonal vegetables, all rare delicacies seldom seen in the Outer City.
Su Derong picked up his ivory chopsticks and placed a slice of leopard heart on Chen Jianghe's dish. "Try this. Red-Striped Leopard heart is the best for replenishing vital energy and blood. One slice can save an ordinary martial artist three days of hard training."
Chen Jianghe tried it.
The leopard heart was incredibly tender, yet carried a wild, gamey sweetness.
Once he swallowed, a wave of heat rose from his stomach and surged to his head. His vital energy stirred through his whole body, just as Su Derong had said.
"How is it?" Su Derong asked with a beaming smile.
"It really is extraordinary." Chen Jianghe nodded, paused, then added, "It's just far too expensive."
Su Derong burst into laughter, his fan fluttering merrily. "Expensive? This is nothing. This table must have cost at least—"
He held up four fingers.
"Forty taels?" Chen Jianghe asked.
"Four taels," Su Derong corrected. "Of gold."
Chen Jianghe's chopsticks paused in his hand.
Four taels of gold came to forty taels of silver.
Su Derong, however, didn't seem to care. He pulled a small brocade pouch from his robe, weighed it in his hand, then tossed it to the waiter waiting nearby. "Settle the bill. Keep the change as a tip."
The waiter caught the pouch. It was heavy in his hand, and his face lit up with joy. "Thank you for your generous tip, Master Su!"
Chen Jianghe fell silent.
In martial cultivation, wealth, companions, techniques, and a place to practice—the first of these was wealth. It was indeed no empty saying.
As the two were eating, footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs.
Su Derong had his back to the stairs and didn't notice. But Chen Jianghe was facing them, and when he looked up, he saw three people coming upstairs.
The one in front looked to be a little over thirty, with a stern face, sharp brows, and bright eyes. He wore a fitted black outfit beneath a dark-patterned brocade robe, with a long saber at his waist. It was none other than senior brother Zhao Mingyuan.
The man following him was somewhat younger, with a narrow face and thin lips. His eyes were lively, but there was a touch of arrogance in them. He wore an indigo satin robe and also carried a long saber at his waist. This was second senior brother Li Tian.
Half a step behind the two stood a young man of about seventeen or eighteen.
He wore a brocade robe and a jade belt, and had handsome features, but his brows and eyes held a chill that seemed at odds with his age.
His gaze was sharp as he casually swept it across the main hall. When his eyes met Chen Jianghe's, they didn't linger for even an instant, as though Chen Jianghe were nothing more than an ordinary table or chair.
Chen Jianghe's fingers tightened slightly around his wine cup.
Chen Wanglong.
The legitimate grandson of the Chen Family, the one everyone at the Chen Family's ancestral hall had praised to the skies as "the Chen Family's qilin child."
Su Derong noticed that something was off in Chen Jianghe's expression. He followed his gaze and turned around, his face instantly darkening.
His lips curled. Then he suddenly let out a derisive laugh, not loud, but clear enough for the men who had just come upstairs to hear.
"Tsk. What rotten luck. I left home without checking the almanac, and now I've run into two ungrateful curs."
Zhao Mingyuan's steps faltered. His gaze passed over Su Derong and fell on Chen Jianghe across from him. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Li Tian immediately strode forward, his face dark. "You, Su! Who are you calling that?!"
Su Derong slowly turned back, picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and chewed and swallowed it carefully. Only then did he glance at Li Tian. His fan snapped open, and he gave it two lazy waves. "Whoever answers, that's who I'm insulting."
"You—!" Li Tian's face flushed red. He took a step forward, but Zhao Mingyuan reached out and stopped him.
Zhao Mingyuan's voice was flat, betraying no emotion. "Junior Brother Su, it's been a long time. Your tongue is just as sharp as ever."
Su Derong didn't care in the slightest. Instead, he tapped Chen Jianghe's arm with the spine of his fan. His voice was just loud enough for the others to hear.
"Jianghe, see that? These are the two 'puppies' our kind-hearted master picked up from the snow outside the city all those years ago. He raised them with so much care and taught them everything he knew. And what happened?"
He waved his fan. "Before the bones had even warmed in their mouths, they caught the scent of meat tossed out by the Zhao Family in the Inner City and scampered off, tails wagging, without looking back. All these years, have they ever returned to the martial arts hall to see their master? Have they spared even a thought for their fellow disciples?"
Zhao Mingyuan's expression didn't change. He merely said, "I, Mingyuan, have never dared forget Master's kindness. But people climb toward higher ground. The Zhao Family could give me more resources and a better future. Why couldn't I choose them? Martial cultivation is like rowing upstream: if you don't advance, you fall behind. If I'd stayed at the Xingyi Martial Arts Hall, could I have achieved what I have today?"
"What a fine excuse about climbing toward higher ground!" Su Derong sneered. His fan snapped shut with a clap, and he rapped it hard against the table. "Then tell me, after you left, did you ever return to the martial arts hall to see your master? Did you ever send him a single greeting?"
His voice rose, drawing curious glances from the nearby tables.
"And you, Li Tian!" Su Derong turned his attack on the narrow-faced man. "Your talent was mediocre. If Master hadn't taken pity on you for being alone and helpless, brought you into the school, and taught you his boxing, you'd have starved to death in some filthy gutter by now! And what did you do? Zhao Mingyuan had barely been recruited by the Zhao Family before you came scurrying after him, wagging your tail and begging for scraps. You got yourself a job as an outside-family guard, and from then on, you disowned your own school! Am I wrong to call you ungrateful?"
Li Tian had been struck where it hurt, and he flew into a rage. "Su Derong! Stop acting so high and mighty! That old man kept his best techniques to himself. The martial arts hall was already falling apart—what future could it offer? What was wrong with me and senior brother finding another way? And you, the Young Gang Leader of the Su Family, aren't you just wasting your days at the martial arts hall? What gives you the right to criticize us?"
"Wasting my days?" Su Derong was so angry he laughed. "I stayed at the martial arts hall because Master saved my Su Family's life! Because I know what 'loyalty' means! Unlike certain people who climb a tall branch and forget their roots!"
He shot to his feet and pointed his fan straight at Li Tian.
"Besides, whether Master taught me the advanced boxing forms is none of your damn business! You're the one who lacked the ability to break through the barrier to the power-amplifying realm, and now you blame Master for holding back? Li Tian, have some shame!"
"You're asking for death!" Li Tian shouted. His right hand had already reached for the long saber at his waist.