Linhai City

Kaohai Commandery could be counted as the wealthiest commandery in the Flowing Cloud Kingdom.

As its name suggested, Kaohai Commandery lay close to the southern sea, which was rich in resources. It was especially abundant in precious goods such as pearls and coral, which were highly prized by the rich and powerful.

Linhai City was not the commandery capital, but it was indeed the most prosperous city in the entire Flowing Cloud Kingdom. Merchants came in an endless stream every day to buy treasures from the sea, which they then shipped throughout the kingdom. It could be called a center of trade.

The only place in the entire Flowing Cloud Kingdom that could rival it was Tianyuan City in the northern Qinghe Commandery, the largest city for grain trading.

Of the Flowing Cloud Kingdom's seven commanderies, at least three received their grain from Tianyuan City in Qinghe Commandery.

Of course, Shen Ge had learned all this from what he had seen and heard along the way.

Speaking of which, a commandery in the Flowing Cloud Kingdom was fucking huge. He had walked for a little over a month and had only just reached Linhai City, which was still relatively far south within Kaohai Commandery. To walk all the way out of the commandery on his own two legs would take at least another three months.

Of course, Shen Ge had not been in much of a hurry and had taken his time along the way. If he traveled at full speed, he might be able to leave Kaohai Commandery in just one month.

After paying a few copper coins to enter the city, Shen Ge looked this way and that, like a country bumpkin visiting a bustling metropolis for the first time.

Shen Ge could hardly help losing his composure. He had never seen buildings like these, which could have passed for historical monuments. Although he had been to Luoyang once, present-day Luoyang felt far too modern and was nowhere near as full of old-world charm as this place.

"The style is similar to ancient times, but living conditions here are much better. Not only is there no need to worry about great famines, but with cultivators helping from the shadows, even large-scale epidemics can't get a foothold."

"It's just that Demon Beasts attack villages from time to time. They're all minor Demon Beasts, though, so it's nothing to worry about."

After entering the city, Shen Ge first found an inn and rented a room for a long stay. Then he summoned an attendant and ordered some signature dishes and fine wine.

It was not that he was craving food. Shen Ge simply wanted to see how the food in this other world compared with that of his previous life.

Soon, a table full of dishes was laid out before Shen Ge. The inn attendant brought over a pot of wine and set it on the table. "Honored guest, this is Sea Soul Wine, unique to Linhai City. Its color is clear and bright, and its aftertaste lingers endlessly. Please enjoy."

With that, he withdrew.

Shen Ge stared at the wine pot on the table for a while. It was not tall, just a little more than a handspan, and a fish had been painted in colored glaze on its white body. Shen Ge could not tell what kind it was from its shape, but it reminded him of a cartoon whale with a fat head.

Unable to wait, Shen Ge poured himself a cup and savored it carefully before saying with a hint of disappointment, "It's very ordinary. It's strong enough and goes down smoothly, but I still prefer wine that burns the throat."

That was also because Shen Ge had struggled at the very bottom of society in his previous life. He really had never tasted the fine wines that cost thousands or tens of thousands apiece.

Although this Sea Soul Wine was not all that remarkable, if it were sold in his previous life, a pot would cost at least a few hundred yuan.

Shen Ge then tried the food. He had to admit, it tasted pretty good. Although it lacked the wide variety of seasonings from his previous life, it preserved the food's own flavor to the greatest extent possible.

After eating and drinking his fill, Shen Ge went for a stroll around the city.

He had already asked the inn attendant about it. Linhai City was divided into four main districts: east, south, west, and north. The southern district was mainly frequented by merchants, and treasures hauled from the sea were almost all sold there.

The northern and western districts were fairly ordinary, but the eastern district was more interesting. It was almost entirely filled with inns, restaurants, and brothels. Pretty much every form of entertainment permitted by the imperial court could be found there, and people could even be organized into groups to try going out to sea or hunting.

But naturally, more entertainment meant spending more money. This place could be called the biggest money pit in all of Kaohai Commandery. No matter how much money you had, if you tried every form of entertainment here, you would lose at least a fortune of ten thousand.

Shen Ge did not have that much money, so naturally he had no such thoughts.

Although making money was fairly easy for him, he had now become a cultivator and had lost much of his interest in worldly wealth. But if those worldly things were exchanged for Spirit Stones, Shen Ge would be guaranteed to show great enthusiasm.

As he wandered, a wooden tower suddenly appeared before him. It stood over twenty meters tall, with seven stories in all, and looked quite spacious.

Of course, that was not the point. The point was the women standing on its galleries with their clothes half-undone. At a glance, no fewer than a hundred young women stood along the galleries of the fifth story, their gauzy robes loosened and lovely smiles on their faces. Some held embroidered handkerchiefs, others folding fans, and all wore flirtatious smiles as they sought to captivate every man passing below.

Shen Ge had never seen such a grand spectacle. Even when he had called for technicians at a foot-washing parlor, there had never been ten for him to choose from at once, so for a moment he found himself staring.

That could hardly be held against Shen Ge. After all, such a sight really was immensely tempting to a man.

Moreover, the environment in which the vast majority of people grew up meant they could never see such a grand spectacle, so it was only natural to be a little shaken for a moment.

"Good heavens, no wonder people say ancient times were good. The good thing is that this stuff is legal. You can go in and have fun without getting arrested."

After standing there for nearly ten minutes, Shen Ge glanced at the silver in his purse and finally decided to go in and have a look.

Of course, do not misunderstand. He was only going in to look around, mainly because he was curious what it was like inside.

Shen Ge would not lose his virginity in a place like this. The body he had finally managed to refine was now at its very peak, and losing his primordial Yang at this point really was not worth it.

By Shen Ge's reckoning, it would be best to wait until he had reached at least the Golden Core Stage before losing his virginity. By then, primordial Yang and the like would no longer matter to cultivation anyway.

But whether one would still have such thoughts by then was hard to say. After all, who among those who cultivated to the Golden Core Stage had not lived for a century or two? They would long since have grown indifferent to worldly love and romance, perhaps even unable to muster the slightest interest. After all, how could love be as alluring as the Great Dao?

Just after he entered the doorway, two young women with their bosoms half-exposed gathered around him. They were not peerless beauties, but they were beautiful at the very least, each in her own distinctive way.

With practiced ease, they each took one of Shen Ge's arms. One of them said, "Young master, I've been waiting for you for ages. I saw you watching the sisters upstairs from over there. You watched for so long that I thought you weren't coming in."

Shen Ge's old face turned red for once. He had been caught looking at beauties, and by a woman at that. For the first time, he felt he could hardly save face.

"Young master, what would you like to do? Wind and string instruments, singing and dancing-the sisters upstairs can do it all. Poetry and prose, wielding brush and ink-none of that can stump them either."

"Even if you want to spar, young master, that's no problem. Some of our sisters are martial arts experts. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds-they've mastered all eighteen martial arts."

Shen Ge was truly astonished. Were ancient brothels all this competitive? There was practically someone who could do anything.

But amid his shock, Shen Ge also felt shaken. To have gathered so many accomplished young women, the power behind this brothel could not be simple.