After receiving ten thousand taels of silver from the fat steward, Wang Hao used his Thousand Faces Divine Technique to create a handsome face that was nine-tenths similar to Wu Yanzu's, and his figure shrunk to eight feet. Only then did he put on a specially made brocade robe and walk towards the Listening to Rain Pavilion.
Without saying much as he entered Listening to Rain Pavilion, Wang Hao went straight to the boudoir where Dongfang Bai was on the ninth floor. However, as soon as he arrived on the ninth floor, Wang Hao's expression turned cold.
"Young Master Wu, Young Master Zhu specifically instructed me last night that you absolutely must not enter this boudoir!"
The beautiful woman who entertained Wang Hao last night was blocking a thin young man in brocade robes, who seemed to be trying to force his way into Dongfang Bai's boudoir. Behind him was an old man carrying a long sword.
"What kind of lousy Young Master Zhu is this? There's no room in the capital that I, Wu Cheng, can't enter! Don't you know my father is the Minister of Rites? If you don't get out of my way, I'll burn down your Listening to Rain Pavilion!"
The young man in brocade robes Wu Cheng, arrogantly cursed, even invoking his Pops's name.
"Bang!"
"Snap!"
Just then, a broad hand slapped his shoulder, forcing him to his knees. His knees slammed heavily onto the floor with a series of cracking sounds, clearly indicating that his kneecaps were broken.
"Ah--"
"Smack!"
Wu Cheng had suffered such pain before, and was so provoked that he screamed like a pig being slaughtered. But as soon as he opened his mouth, a slap came down, interrupting his screams, and a dozen or so broken teeth flew out.
"Clang!"
"Say another word and I'll kill you!"
Wang Hao casually pulled out the old man's longsword, which was standing to the side, and drove it into the pillar behind Wu Cheng's head along the side, his expression indifferent.
Although these words contained no murderous intent, their calmness terrified Wu Cheng even more, forcing him to suppress the excruciating pain and dare not scream out loud. He was now covered in cold sweat from the pain.
" Young Master Zhu, you've arrived!"
The beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Wang Hao appear. Although she was not weak, she was only at the First-Rate level and did not dare to make a move. This was because the old man behind Wu Cheng was a Peak Super-First-Rate Sword Dao, not much worse than her young lady.
More importantly, Wu Cheng is of extraordinary status; his father is the current Minister of Rites, and he must not be offended.
Thankfully, Wang Hao finally arrived!
"Who are you? Don't you know my father is the Minister of Rites? You dare hit me? You're dead!"
Despite the excruciating pain, Wu Cheng shouted in a fierce but weak voice, hoping to intimidate Wang Hao with his father's name.
But how could he possibly intimidate Wang Hao?
"Smack!"
Wang Hao slapped him again, knocking out the other half of his teeth.
"In this capital city, apart from the Ninth Imperial Uncle sitting on the dragon throne, no one is qualified to take my life! I'd like to see how a mere Minister of Rites can kill me!"
Before Wu Cheng could recover, Wang Hao spoke indifferently, still showing no murderous intent whatsoever, but this only made Wu Cheng more terrified, because he suddenly realized that he seemed to have kicked a hornet's nest today.
The current emperor is the ninth among the princes of previous generations, so many younger members of the royal family call him Ninth Uncle. It seems that the person recently mentioned is likely a member of the royal family, and a direct descendant at that.
This could be fatal!
He did not doubt that Wang Hao was lying. After all, there were not many people in the capital who would dare to beat him, the son of the Minister of Rites, so severely. They were probably just members of the Da Ming Dynasty's royal family.
Therefore, the only people in the capital who could be more arrogant Tyrannical Dao than him were members of the royal family, and specifically, the direct descendants.
"Your Majesty, my young master has just had a few drinks and is not thinking clearly. He may have said something inappropriate, please do not take offense."
The old man, who had been standing there dumbfounded, knelt down, sweating profusely, and pleaded with Wang Hao.
"Hmph! If your father doesn't want to be the Minister of Rites anymore, let him come find me!"
With a cold snort, Wang Hao ignored Wu Cheng and his servant, tossed the ten thousand taels of silver notes to the beautiful woman beside him, and turned to push open the door and walk into Dongfang Bai's boudoir.
The old man breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Wang Hao did not pursue the matter further. He then did not dare to say anything, immediately pulled out the long sword stuck in the pillar, picked up his young master Wu Cheng, and flashed to the third floor of the Listening to Rain Pavilion. He randomly found a room and rushed in.
"Uncle Zhou, why didn't you stop him just now?"
Wu Cheng, who felt much better after the old man had numb his acupoints, complained that Uncle Zhou's performance was really subpar.
He watched helplessly as his young master was beaten, remaining unmoved and only begging for mercy at the end. If it weren't for the fact that Uncle Zhou was a good friend of his father, he would have already lost his temper.
"Young Master, we are already very fortunate to have survived today. That noble person was secretly protected by a Grandmaster- level Sword Dao whose Sword Intent was terrifyingly strong; he was definitely at the Peak Grandmaster."
Uncle Zhou smiled wryly, still feeling quite shaken.
He had just sensed being locked onto by a terrifying Sword Intent and dared not move at all.
Although he possessed the cultivation of Peak Super-First-Rate, he was still no stronger than an ant in front of Grandmaster -level expert, let alone a Grandmaster- level expert who had cultivated Sword Intent.
Most importantly, the opponent's Sword Intent was simply too terrifying; none of the powerful figures he had ever seen could compare to it.
"So he really is a direct descendant of the royal family? Does that mean I can't get my revenge?"
Wu Cheng froze, looking extremely frustrated and terrified.
Although he had never cultivated, he had a clear understanding of the different levels of power among the strong.
In this world, Xiantian Grandmaster the Innate Realm have vanished from the public eye. Those at the Peak Grandmaster Realm are the strongest. How could someone protected by such a powerful being be simple?
After all, even his father, as the Minister of Rites and a second-rank official in the imperial court, only had a Early-Stage Grandmaster expert as his strongest bodyguard, and the other party spent a ten-thousand-tael silver note with a single move.
In a place like the capital, perhaps only members of the royal family could be so magnanimous, which means the other party really is a member of the royal family.
That last shred of hope shattered, leaving only terror.
"Uncle Zhou, I didn't come to the Listening to Rain Pavilion today, nor did I go to see that so-called number one beauty of Chuanshu. I went out of town to ride my horse and accidentally fell off, injuring both my legs. Do you understand?"
After a while, Wu Cheng, who had finally come to his senses, immediately turned his gaze to Uncle Zhou, who was tending to his injuries, the warning in his eyes clearly evident.
He dared not let his father know that he had offended a direct descendant of the royal family, otherwise he would definitely be beaten to death by his father. He knew that his father was capable of anything for his own official position.
"Young Master, rest assured, I know how to explain this to the Master."
Uncle Zhou was a shrewd man, so he naturally knew how to make the right choice.
After all, he also bears some responsibility for what happened today, and if he doesn't want to be punished, he has no choice but to suppress the matter.
Wang Hao was unaware that Wu Cheng had already taken matters into his own hands, saving him a great deal of trouble.
Even if he knew, he wouldn't care. After all, it was royal member Zhu Yanzu who hit him; what did it have to do with Wang Hao?
As for the identity of Zhu Yanzu, he would only use it for two or three days before discarding it. During those two or three days, he was confident that he could extract Dongfang Bai's wish, thereby triggering the side quest.
"Thank you so much for your help, Young Master Young Master Zhu! I am deeply grateful!"
Dongfang Bai remained hidden behind the gauze curtain, but she rose and bowed to Wang Hao.
"You are the woman I've set my sights on, so naturally I won't let anyone else have your way with you!"
Wang Hao waved his hand dismissively, but his words were quite Tyrannical Dao, directly treating Dongfang Bai as his own possession.
These blunt words made Dongfang Bai stiffen, then she smiled apologetically, "This humble servant cannot accept your kindness, young master."
Whether you can afford it or not is up to me. If I say you can, then you can!
Wang Hao's words remained quite Haki. He then ended the topic by gently tossing the brocade box he was holding onto the low table behind the gauze curtain.
"This is for you. Open it and see if you like it."
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Bai opened the brocade box with a puzzled expression, but when she saw what was inside, even she, with her composure, couldn't help but be shocked.
"Is this Heavenly Mountain snow lotus?"
She was no stranger to the medicinal herb Heavenly Mountain snow lotus, and had even swallowed a few Heavenly Mountain snow lotus plants before.
However, even the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus is graded, and the one in front of me is crimson in color, like a burning flame, and it exudes a warm feeling, clearly the best of the best.
It's no exaggeration to say it's priceless, especially for martial arts practitioners.
The Heavenly Mountain snow lotus has a very powerful characteristic: it strengthens and nourishes the meridians, which can be considered a kind of cleansing and marrow-refining process, greatly improving the aptitude of the user.
If she could consume such a top-grade Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus before breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm, her potential would at least double, and she might even be able to break through to the Xiantian Grandmaster realm in the future.
"That's right, it's Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus. Didn't you say you weren't feeling well last night? This Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus is good for regulating menstruation, so swallow it quickly!"
Wang Hao smiled warmly and gently gestured for Dongfang Bai to eat quickly.
"..."
Dongfang Bai looked at the top-grade Heavenly Mountain snow lotus in the brocade box, then at Wang Hao with a gentle smile on his face on the other side of the gauze curtain, and was utterly speechless.
It just goes to show that the Da Ming's royal family truly deserves to be called the wealthiest family in the world.
Even a simple menstrual irregularity requires such a top-grade elixir; this is truly excessive!
Urged on by Wang Hao, and also because he himself longed for this Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus, Dongfang Bai finally plucked a crimson petal and swallowed it. Immediately afterward, a warm current rose from his abdomen and spread throughout his body, even relieving the pain in his lower abdomen.
Although the name "Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus" sounds Bingbing and its growing environment is the most yin and cold in the world, it is actually a yang-type medicine with very mild medicinal properties.
The medicinal effects don't manifest immediately; instead, they lie dormant within the body, gradually transforming and strengthening the body's meridians. Therefore, even if you swallow the entire Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus, you don't need to worry about being overwhelmed by its immense medicinal power.
What kind of internal energy cultivation do you practice?
Seeing Dongfang Bai swallow the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus, Wang Hao suddenly asked, then shook his head and said, "Forget it, no matter what internal energy you cultivate, it's all trash. If you can, go and cultivate external energy!"
At this point, Wang Hao suddenly sighed and murmured to himself, "It's a pity you're not a member of the royal family, so I can't pass on the Body Tempering True Scripture to you."
Wang Hao spoke his last words very softly, so softly that even someone sitting next to him might not be able to hear them, but Dongfang Bai, as Peak Super-First-Rate expert, heard them clearly.
Upon hearing about the so-called Body Tempering True Scripture, he was moved and wrote it down.
"It's a bit much for you, young master, to ask a woman like me to learn external martial arts! Oh? Zi Shou?"
Dongfang Bai pretended not to hear Wang Hao's last whispered words, chuckled softly, and then frowned slightly.
Having reached her level of cultivation, the functions of her five senses have been greatly enhanced. Just now, she smelled some medicine for injuries and some blood, and the source was Wang Hao.
"It's just some minor cuts and scrapes, nothing serious!"
With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Wang Hao didn't take this minor injury seriously at all. In fact, if needed, he could use his Bloodline Power to quickly heal these wounds, ensuring that not even a scar would be left.
However, to avoid causing a sensation and being dissected for research by some powerful individuals, that was not done. Only the subcutaneous injuries were healed, and the wound on the outermost layer of skin was simply treated.
In this way, although those wounds look gruesome and terrifying, they are really just minor superficial injuries.
The only downside is that it leaves scars, but as a real man, Wang Hao has always believed that scars are a man's badge of honor, and that a few scars actually add to his masculinity.
"Play a tune!"
Wang Hao didn't dwell on the topic. He casually lifted the gauze curtain, glanced at Dongfang Bai, and then lay down on the bed that smelled of her body. He put his hands behind his head, gesturing for Dongfang Bai to play a tune.
Seeing Wang Hao so boldly walk in and lie down on her bed, Dongfang Bai frowned slightly, but she didn't say anything because of the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus from before.
After taking a deep look at Wang Hao, who was half-lying on the bed, Dongfang Bai placed her Xianxian fingers on the strings of the zither, and a delicate Kotone began to play.