"I'm no honored guest, just a penniless wretch." Shi Chun made no attempt to hide it, pointing at his ragged appearance with a self-mocking remark before pointing at Bian Weikang. "Let him go!"
Feng Chi blinked several times without answering, then walked gracefully up to Bian Weikang and asked, "A friend of yours?"
Bian Weikang felt rather awkward. How could he know who this ragged man who had suddenly appeared was? There was certainly no one like him among his acquaintances. Still, he saw hope. The man had already made it clear that he was standing up for him, so he immediately called out to Shi Chun, "Please help me, young master. In days to come, I'll repay your kindness with a gushing spring."
He called him "young master" because he could tell the other man was not very old either.
Shi Chun ignored him and answered Feng Chi instead. "Whether we know each other doesn't matter. What matters is that you've gone too far. You know perfectly well who he is. Humiliating him like this drags Mount Wukang's reputation through the mud. I won't stand for it!"
He believed that Mount Wukang would learn about what happened here sooner or later. Naturally, he had to speak up for them-it would make their eventual meeting easier.
He wouldn't stand for it? Many people found that curious. Could this man have some connection to Mount Wukang?
Feng Chi smiled. She could also tell that Bian Weikang did not know this man, so she flicked her handkerchief. "You make it sound far too serious, honored guest. One matter is one matter; we wouldn't dare drag Mount Wukang into this. We haven't forced Young Master Bian into anything. He brought this humiliation upon himself, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Mount Wukang.
"He wants to buy the freedom of one of my girls, but he can't produce the money. Not only does he refuse to let anyone else buy her freedom, he's been blocking my entrance and interfering with my business. We truly had no choice but to ask him to move aside. Judge for yourself, honored guest-who's really gone too far?"
"Just give me one more day. One more day." Bian Weikang hurriedly cut in, then remembered something and called out to Shi Chun, "Could you lend me fifty thousand gold first, young master? I'll repay you double afterward."
Shi Chun still ignored him and said to Feng Chi, "I've already seen what happened. Isn't it simply a matter of being fifty thousand sandalwood gold short?"
At those words, Che Si, Old Dong, and Big Stone all experienced a slight change of expression.
Shi Chun had already left Feng Chi's side and walked over to Bian Weikang. He raised a hand and patted his shoulder, his face full of admiration. "People with loyalty and feeling like yours are the ones I admire most. If everyone in the world were heartless, what meaning would life have? Mutual love is worth more than untold riches. A man who can cast aside his dignity for his beloved is a true man, a real man. I'll lend you the fifty thousand sandalwood gold!"
Bian Weikang was so overcome that his lips trembled, and tears instantly spilled from his eyes. That feeling of being abandoned by the entire world, only for someone to suddenly reach out and pull him up, was something no bystander could understand. He was so moved that he could not utter the thanks he wanted to give.
Shi Chun had already turned and called to Wu Jinliang, "Do we have fifty thousand gold?"
Wu Jinliang's grin nearly split his face all the way to the back of his head. He answered cheerfully, "We do. Just picked it up-it's still warm."
Shi Chun said, "Give it to them."
Wu Jinliang slung his great saber over his shoulder and came forward carrying the case in one hand. He set it down on Bian Weikang's chest with a clang, then waved grandly. "Count it."
This was the first time in his life he had been so lavish, and he found it immensely satisfying.
Che Si's face looked a little green, and he could not quite figure out what was going on. Shi Chun seemed to be standing up for justice, helping Mount Wukang save face. Everything being said suggested that the bedraggled young master had a substantial connection to Mount Wukang, leaving Che Si unsure whether he should step in and recover those forty thousand.
But on second thought, Mount Wukang was a major sect that refined Talismans-a wealthy establishment. They could not afford the disgrace of failing to repay a loan. Besides, that young master had just promised to repay double.
With that in mind, he remained silent.
Old Dong and Big Stone, meanwhile, watched Wu Jinliang's every word and movement intently. They might not know much else, but they knew Wu Jinliang. Seeing someone like him toss out fifty thousand gold as though it were nothing made them all the more certain that something was afoot.
Shi Chun turned again and pointed at the two enforcers restraining Bian Weikang. "Why haven't you let him go yet? If you dare go back on your word, believe me, I'll smash your rice bowls!"
Wasn't Liyun Tower those enforcers' rice bowl? Didn't that mean he would smash up Liyun Tower?
Everyone exchanged glances at his words. No matter the time or place, anyone openly running such a large den of rouge and powder had to be able to keep all the gentlemen who came to play under control, and certainly had some backing. Anyone who dared say that in public was either ignorant or powerful.
They did not know whether he was ignorant, but his willingness to toss out fifty thousand gold was real enough. That was not a sum an ordinary person could throw around.
Fifty thousand sandalwood gold was indeed no small amount. Coupled with his bold confidence despite his ragged clothing, and the people from Wangbo Tower accompanying him, even the madam Feng Chi could hardly misjudge him.
Still, she exercised a little extra caution. She stepped forward and opened the case, immediately revealing a mass of violet, flame-like vapor rising from within. The case of southern floating sandalwood gold was truly there. This was no bluff; he really had that kind of money. She promptly tilted her head slightly in a signal to her men.
The enforcers restraining Bian Weikang immediately released him.
Overjoyed, Bian Weikang immediately moved to bow deeply to Shi Chun in thanks, but Shi Chun caught him first. "Now, now, it was no trouble. There's no need for that. Whatever you have to say can wait. Getting your beloved out of here comes first."
As he spoke, he turned and demanded of Feng Chi, "Madam, you've been paid. Where is Miss Xiang?"
"With a benefactor helping you, it seems you and Lan'er really are destined for each other." Feng Chi teased Bian Weikang with a smile, then tilted her head toward one of her men. "Bring Lan'er here."
The man immediately nodded and left.
Since she had already displayed her mercenary nature, Feng Chi no longer bothered to conceal it. With a flick of her handkerchief, she ordered her other men to check the quantity and authenticity of the sandalwood gold in front of everyone.
It was the petty-minded one had to guard against, not gentlemen. Shi Chun also signaled with a tilt of his head, and Old Dong and Big Stone immediately hurried forward to watch the people from Liyun Tower count the money, clearly guarding against any trickery.
The two had followed Shi Chun in the Eastern Nine Plains for years and were accustomed to working in perfect harmony. If they could not understand such a simple look from their chief, all those years would have been wasted.
After acting on his signal, they could not help exchanging another glance, each understanding the meaning in the other's eyes. These damned old habits. They were people of Wangbo Tower now, respectable men, no longer members of the Eastern Nine Plains gang that robbed homes and plundered households.
They felt a little guilty. Che Si was watching. Was it appropriate for people from Wangbo Tower to get involved in this?
On reflection, there was nothing wrong with it. After exchanging a few more looks, they had their answer ready. Some of this money belonged to Miss Miao. Was there anything wrong with helping keep an eye on it?
Feng Chi took in the entire exchange.
Wangbo Tower was a colossal presence in the cultivation world. Apart from the Underworld, which had sealed itself off for eight hundred years and had no dealings with the outside world, Wangbo Tower's business tendrils reached into almost every territory. How could the workings behind that be simple? Her Liyun Tower had some standing in Skyward City, but outside Skyward City it was nothing. Before Wangbo Tower, it was smaller still, insignificant beyond measure, though both were in business.
The fact that a single look from him could command people from Wangbo Tower made her even more certain that this ragged visitor was no ordinary man.
She immediately drew closer with another smile to inquire, "I have yet to ask your honorable name, young master."
Shi Chun answered calmly, "Shi Chun."
Longing for love? Feng Chi was briefly taken aback. Once she recovered, she assumed he was teasing her as a brothel proprietor. But as someone accustomed to such social occasions, she knew when she could and could not take offense. She promptly replied with a smile, "You jest, young master."
Shi Chun had seen this sort of reaction many times and was particularly sensitive to it. The moment he heard her response, he knew she had taken it the wrong way. His expression darkened on the spot, and he ignored her.
Having received a cold shoulder, Feng Chi brushed it off with an awkward smile. Since he did not want to tell her, she would not ask again. She would naturally find a way to learn his identity later.
"Xiang..." The man who hurried into the small side room off Liyun Tower's main hall suddenly saw Xiang Lan'er looking as though someone had beaten her, and was too startled to speak. Since she herself seemed untroubled, he did not meddle and simply delivered his message. "Bian Weikang has raised enough money to buy your freedom. The madam wants you outside."
Xiang Lan'er murmured an acknowledgment. She had seen it too while hiding here. Although she had not clearly seen what happened, she had guessed.
After the messenger withdrew, she touched the whip marks on her body and then those on her face. It seemed she had suffered that beating for nothing.
She returned to the window to look at the situation outside, then gathered her emotions before walking gracefully out.