Liyun Tower's star courtesan truly lived up to her reputation. The moment she made her entrance, she drew everyone's attention. The crowd below the steps turned to watch the woman descending gracefully toward them. She was a stunning beauty, possessed of a thousand charms, even with her injuries leaving her looking bedraggled.
Wu Jinliang silently clicked his tongue in admiration. No wonder she cost so much.
Shi Chun thought she was quite pretty too, but what occupied his mind was how to move his merchandise.
Bian Weikang, however, stared with eyes that threatened to burst from their sockets. Clenching his fists, he turned to Feng Chi in grief and fury. "Did you beat her?"
Feng Chi waved her handkerchief calmly. "She wouldn't listen to reason and insisted on being with you. I only wanted what was best for her. But it's all in the past now. If you feel her injuries spoil the deal, Young Master Bian, you can decline. Your money can be refunded."
"You..." Bian Weikang trembled with rage, but there was nothing he could do. Turning, he pushed aside the people in his way and rushed over to embrace Xiang Lan'er, weeping with joy.
The counting and verification of the five hundred thousand in sandalwood gold continued. It was no small sum, after all.
That was the trouble with using hard currency. Originally, there had been no need for such hassle: gold notes of equivalent denomination could be used for transactions. But the Demonic Path had repeatedly tampered with them, eventually pulling off a particularly vicious scheme by mass-producing indistinguishable counterfeits and throwing the cultivation world into enormous turmoil. Until a way could be found to prevent that, everyone had reverted to hard currency.
Of course, large transactions could still be handled through the relevant banking houses. Clearly, that had not been done here.
Fortunately, Liyun Tower, where money was flung about like dirt, had its own equipment for counting and verification. The specialized magical artifact resembled a funnel and worked very quickly.
After explaining the situation, Bian Weikang brought Xiang Lan'er over to Shi Chun.
Having knocked around for so many years, Shi Chun had developed a finely honed sensitivity to unusual reactions. He vaguely sensed that, alongside her gratitude, Xiang Lan'er's gaze held a considerable measure of scrutiny. It struck him as somewhat odd.
But then he looked at his own ragged appearance and immediately understood.
Once the sandalwood gold had been counted and the amount confirmed, Shi Chun promptly held out his hand to Feng Chi. "Where is Miss Xiang's Deed of Sale?"
If she refused to give it to him and insisted on handing it to Xiang Lan'er or Bian Weikang, he would bring up the fifty thousand gold he had lent them. Shouldn't the Deed of Sale be left with him as collateral first?
In short, he was determined to get his hands on it. There was no way he would let his fifty thousand gold go down the drain.
Fortunately, Wangbo Tower's reputation carried enough weight. With everyone watching and a representative of Wangbo Tower present, Feng Chi thought nothing more of it. She reached into her sleeve and took out the Deed of Sale she had prepared beforehand.
Shi Chun snatched it into his hand and, without even looking at it, asked Bian Weikang, "Do you have somewhere to stay?"
He was not remotely worried that the Deed of Sale might be fake. Again, with so many eyes watching, she would hardly dare. With countless witnesses, giving him a fake would serve no purpose anyway.
Still overcome with emotion, Bian Weikang thought nothing of it and nodded repeatedly. "I do."
"Come on," Shi Chun said. "We'll take you two there first."
Bian Weikang nodded with immense gratitude, murmuring his assent.
They turned to leave, but Feng Chi called out, "Lan'er, are you just going to leave like that? Mama hasn't treated you poorly all these years, has she? You don't resent me, do you?"
Xiang Lan'er stopped and turned, dipping slightly in a bow. Without a word, she gave Feng Chi a look whose meaning they both understood, then resolutely followed Bian Weikang away, as though she no longer had any attachment to the place.
Bian Weikang was quite considerate of her. Unwilling to let a crowd gawp at her like a performing monkey, he took off his outer robe and draped it over her head.
As they squeezed through the crowd, Shi Chun took advantage of the confusion to slip the Deed of Sale into Wu Jinliang's hand.
Wu Jinliang smoothly tucked it away on his person. Their seamless coordination left no one the wiser. Clearly, this was not their first time doing something like this; they knew the routine well.
Once they emerged from the crowd of spectators, he spoke up. "Chuntian, these rags draw too much attention. I'm going to buy some clothes. Tell me where you're heading, and I'll come find you afterward."
Bian Weikang hurriedly pointed in a direction. "The Carefree Inn over there. Just give them my name, and you'll find me."
"Right you are." Chuckling, Wu Jinliang grabbed Old Dong's arm and dragged him straight off. "You know the area. Show me the way."
Big Stone was just beginning to feel that something was wrong when another hand landed on his shoulder. It was Che Si, who drew him aside to question him.
He asked nothing else, only what was going on.
Big Stone did not know exactly what was going on either. He did work at the local Wangbo Tower, but as a newcomer, he still had plenty to learn. He had yet to concern himself with romantic affairs.
In the end, the two simply stopped a departing spectator. After learning what had happened, Che Si's face turned green again. Given Bian Weikang's circumstances, he felt those forty thousand gold had gone down the drain.
Filled with frustration, he deeply regretted not asking for the full story and botching the task Miss Miao had entrusted to him. But who could have known that fellow would do something so outrageous? Getting Liyun Tower to cough the money back up now was hardly possible.
He lost all interest in following them any farther and hurried back. He needed to inform Miss Miao of the situation at once and let her decide what to do.
Big Stone was also deeply puzzled and doubtful. What made the Chief so certain that Bian Weikang could repay twice the amount?
He was secretly relieved he had not taken the risk, yet also found it strange. The Chief was not the sort to throw down so much money without first understanding the situation.
The spectators had dispersed, but Feng Chi, the madam standing on the steps, remained outside for a long time. There were hardly any customers at midday anyway, and she kept watching the departing figures.
Although an unexpected complication had arisen, dismantling the stage before the tragic romance meant to bind Bian Weikang tightly could even begin, the overall direction had not changed.
She beckoned, and a pockmarked attendant with a numb expression came to her side. She gave him a quiet instruction. "Dig into their background. Find out where they came from."
The attendant left without a word.
As for his background, Shi Chun did not conceal much during their conversation along the way. When Bian Weikang and Xiang Lan'er asked, he told them he had just been released from the Land of Exile.
It was not that he wanted to be honest. He knew he could not hide it. Mount Wukang was unlikely to readily accept someone of unknown origins later on.
The startled lovers instinctively glanced back at Big Stone, who followed behind them. Their puzzlement was obvious. Since when had people from the Land of Exile become so prestigious that even their outings came with an escort from Wangbo Tower?
Bian Weikang took it a little better. After all, he had already witnessed Shi Chun's wild arrogance: he was either shouting about smashing someone dead or threatening to wreck Liyun Tower.
Xiang Lan'er found it harder to believe. Could this amiable, refined-looking man really have come from such a crude and barbarous place?
Shi Chun noticed their doubts and explained, "Haven't you noticed how dark he is too? He only got out a month or so before us. We used to scrape together our meals together. He got lucky and joined Wangbo Tower. When he heard we were out, he came over to catch up."
Only then did the lovers tentatively believe him, though they remained curious. Could someone from the Land of Exile possess the boldness to spend on such a scale? Perhaps the roadside rumors they had heard before could not be taken as truth. After all, they had never actually dealt with such people.
The Carefree Inn was a fine establishment, built into a sheer cliff face. It was a relatively luxurious inn, too, offering views of the magnificent scenery within the great gorge. Bian Weikang ordinarily stayed here-supported by Xiang Lan'er, as Feng Chi had put it.
The party had just climbed the winding stone steps and reached the entrance of the Carefree Inn when Wu Jinliang came racing up with astonishing speed, Old Dong following behind him.
Wu Jinliang now looked like an entirely different person. He had actually bought an outfit as white as snow, which rather suited his thick brows and large eyes. Against his dark skin, the contrast was almost eye-wateringly sharp, especially with the great black saber still slung over his shoulder.
Yet Wu Jinliang himself was delighted, asking everyone with a cheerful grin, "How's my choice of clothes?"
"Excellent, excellent. You really have a good eye, brother," Bian Weikang complimented him sincerely, then could not help exchanging a glance with Xiang Lan'er. With taste like that, they believed these really were stalwart fellows from the Land of Exile.
"Well? Well? How are the clothes?" Wu Jinliang circled Shi Chun, slipping a folded sheet of paper into his ragged clothes when the others could not see.
He had only bought one outfit. He was pressed for time, after all, and did not know Shi Chun's size. Back in the Land of Exile, clothing sizes had never really been something they paid attention to.
"The clothes are decent. The man, not so much," Shi Chun remarked offhandedly.
After that, they saw the good deed through to the end, escorting their charges all the way home.
Once they entered the Carefree Inn and reached the door to Bian Weikang's room, Shi Chun stopped and refused to go farther. Pointing at himself, he said self-deprecatingly, "We're filthy. We won't come in."
"You're not, you're not." Bian Weikang hastily assured him otherwise and invited him inside. "Brother Shi..."
Every time he addressed him that way, he had to pause. He still was not quite used to it. This fellow's surname was truly something: anyone trying to be polite ended up calling him their senior.
Shi Chun raised his hand to stop him, looking quite serious. "Knowing where to find you is enough. We won't disturb you lovebirds. We still have a friend to visit. We'll see you later. Oh..." As though remembering something, he took out the Deed of Sale.
He unfolded it on the spot, ignoring the freshness of the ink and the many bright red fingerprints, and went straight to its contents. It stated that she had borrowed a certain sum to treat her father's injuries and sold herself for thirty years. During that term, she had to obey any order that would not kill or maim her, and she could also be resold.
He could not help looking at Xiang Lan'er. "So you sold yourself to Liyun Tower to pay for your father's treatment!"
Xiang Lan'er nodded sadly.
Looking at the Deed of Sale again, Shi Chun said, "Thirty years. That means there are still almost ten years left..." As he spoke, he tore it noisily into shreds and crumpled them into a ball. Without showing it to either of them, he used magic to grind it to powder, tossed it away, and dusted off his hands. "There, Miss Xiang. From this day forward, you're free."
Standing beside them, Old Dong watched with his mouth twitching uncontrollably. He had personally seen Wu Jinliang forge a copy of the Deed of Sale, and it could not have been more fake. The awful handwriting was Wu Jinliang's own, and so were the fingerprints. For a forgery to be this brazenly crude, someone outside the Prison of Life probably could not have produced such shoddy work.
If the Deed of Sale they had torn up was real, he would poke his own eyes out.
From what he knew of these two, they were plainly up to something.
After turning it over in his mind, he could see only one possibility: they were putting on a show of generosity, and once the other party failed to repay the money as promised, they would use the Deed of Sale as a threat.