Chapter 9 Brothel

"That skill is so cool."

Not only is it cool, but the amazing discovery also revealed that the skill manual can be used repeatedly without a time limit. In other words, as long as the manual isn't returned or lost, the skill can still be used even after leaving the game level.

"It's great for taking pictures."

Having made up his mind to keep the secret manual to himself, he looked at the white-clad NPC in front of him to show off his extraordinary encounter.

"I've learned the skill, what's next?"

Ye Gucheng: "..."

Ye Gucheng: "It's nothing. You can come back here to find me in ten days."

Show off your adventure by glancing at the newly appeared side quest.

"Come here in ten days to find Ye Gucheng."

"This ten days shouldn't be a real number, right?" She curiously opened another phone and checked online. She discovered that a day in the game roughly corresponds to two hours in the real world.

"Ten days is roughly twenty hours. It's 7 p.m. now, so it will be 3 p.m. tomorrow."

Knowing that the NPCs in this game level wouldn't wait for anyone, I promptly set an alarm to avoid failing the mission again due to missing the time.

*********

On the other hand, following the clues provided by Xiu Chuqiyu, Lu Xiaofeng recovered the stolen goods in just one day.

Of course, Hua Manlou's financial assistance was indispensable during this period.

"I don't know how she knew where the stolen goods were. If Jin Jiuling wasn't more suspicious, I would really suspect that Xiu Chuqi was the real master thief."

Hua Manlou didn't take Lu Xiaofeng's teasing seriously: "Didn't your intuition already tell you the answer?"

"Putting everything else aside, although I can't see it, the fragrance on that woman's clothes alone is enough to buy more than a dozen top-grade luminous pearls."

"Really?" Lu Xiaofeng, who knew little about spices, asked curiously.

Hua Manlou nodded: "I have never smelled this kind of spice before. The aroma is complex but not greasy. The top, middle and base notes are different, but they complement each other. The aroma is very special."

"I don't know how it was mixed. I can only barely identify two or three raw materials, each of which is priceless."

"I never expected that the spices on her body were so expensive," Lu Xiaofeng exclaimed.

"However, her clothes and jewelry were indeed extraordinary, and the two long swords she carried on her back were more divine than any sword I had ever seen before. In terms of value alone, I'm afraid the stolen goods of ten master thieves wouldn't be worth as much as those divine swords."

"Presumably, someone who can wield such a powerful weapon would not be interested in the meager stolen goods taken by the Embroidered Thief."

After chatting for a while, the two arrived at the place they had agreed upon with the Snake King.

"I wonder if the Snake King has taken stock of Jin Jiuling's assets."

Just as Lu Xiaofeng was about to push open the door, Hua Manlou grabbed him.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a smell of blood!" Hua Manlou said gravely.

Lu Xiaofeng's heart skipped a beat, and he kicked the door open.

The Snake King was still sitting in his usual wheelchair, his posture upright, and he seemed to be doing nothing wrong.

Upon seeing this, Lu Xiaofeng's heart sank. The Snake King was facing away from them.

Carefully circling around to the front, Lu Xiaofeng immediately spotted the line of blood on the Snake King's neck. Reaching out to check, he confirmed that it was no longer breathing.

*********

After leaving Ye Gucheng's residence, Xiuchu planned to wander around the city, hoping to encounter some special merchants.

She didn't exit the Celestial Flying Immortal skill interface, because she discovered that this skill was not only cool, but also an excellent way to travel, allowing her to traverse even further than Nie Yun. Most importantly, it didn't consume any stamina; it only required a small amount of internal energy to use.

As for her internal energy bar, she had over 700,000, which was more than enough to allow her to use the "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" skill to circle around the capital.

The only downside is that it leaves a big hole in the ground.

But what does it matter? This is just a game world, it will refresh soon anyway.

Showing off his extraordinary adventures, he used his celestial skills while strolling around the capital city.

As we flew, we arrived at a place called Yiqingyuan.

Passerby A: "Ouyang Qian hasn't shown up for several days. Did she get her freedom?"

Passerby B: "How could that be? She's the most popular courtesan, and she's at the peak of her career. The madam wouldn't agree to let her redeem herself. Maybe some big shot has booked the whole place."

"A courtesan? Redeemed from her bonds?"

Showing off her amazing encounter, her eyes widened.

"There are even brothels in the game levels?"

She had only intended to pass by, but she used a single skill to dash in.

pimp: "Miss, you..."

"What's wrong?" Xiu Chuqi asked curiously as she turned around.

pimp: "No, it's nothing, please do as you please."

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Showing off her unexpected encounter without taking the little incident to heart, she turned and continued walking inside. She discovered that this place was far more prosperous than the brothels she had seen in TV dramas before.

Not only is it bustling, but there are also some NPCs dressed in swimsuits dancing inside, and beautiful female NPCs chatting and laughing with ordinary NPCs all around.

"Are the NPCs in the game levels eating this well?" Showing off her adventures made her a little envious: "I also want to see beautiful women dancing and get close to them!"

Before she could finish reading, she saw a middle-aged woman dressed in brightly colored clothes walking towards her.

Madam: "Excuse me, young lady, are you here looking for someone or gathering information?"

"Can we gather information here?" Showing off her adventures asked curiously.

Madam: "Of course, brothels are places where information flows most freely, so naturally they also do business buying and selling information."

"So what news do you have?"

Madam: "It's not convenient to talk here. Why don't we go to a private room to discuss this in detail?"

Showing off his unexpected encounter, his eyes lit up: "There are private rooms too?"

Thinking of the scenes in the TV series, she asked curiously, "Are there any beautiful women in it?"

Madam: "Yes, of course."

Madam: "Who would you like to order, young lady?"

Recalling the NPC conversation just now, he tentatively asked, "Is Ouyang Qian here? I want to order the courtesan."

The madam's expression changed for a moment, but returned to normal in an instant.

Madam: "That's unfortunate. Ouyang Qian isn't seeing any customers these days. How about we let Xiyao keep you company? She's the best dancer."

"Can you dance?" Showing off her unexpected encounter, she seemed intrigued: "Am I pretty?"

Madam: "Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!"

Entering the private room with the NPC, you'll discover a beautiful girl dressed in exotic style, half-sitting and half-lying down inside.

"This dress is beautiful, and the person wearing it is beautiful too."

Upon hearing this, the NPC chuckled.

"Do you like it? If you do, I can give you the clothes."

"Really?" I can get an outfit for free? I can't believe the developers would be so generous.

"Of course," the woman said, preparing to pull her clothes down.

"Ahhh, no way, this is way too R-rated!"

While showing off his amazing encounter and making sarcastic remarks, he quickly grabbed the woman. "Game planner, aren't you afraid the game will get banned?!"

"Forget it, I don't want it anymore. How about you dance instead? Aren't you supposed to be the best dancer?"

Upon seeing this, the NPC got up and started jumping.

Madam: "What information do you want to find out, young lady?"

There was nothing really to investigate, but a thought suddenly flashed through Xiu Chuqi's mind: "I wonder if we can get Jin Jiuling's financial records here?"

She tentatively asked, "Do you know how much silver Jin Jiuling spends in a year?"

Madam: "Of course I know. He only wants the most beautiful girls and the strongest wine. Where else can you find girls and wine better than here?"

The madam waved her hand, and one of the NPCs who had been following her left. A moment later, the NPC re-entered the room and whispered in the madam's ear.

The madam said, "He spends nearly 140,000 taels of silver a year just at our Yiqing Garden. If you include his clothes, weapons and accessories, it's probably around 180,000 taels of silver."

The madam said, "This doesn't even include the gifts and favors he'll receive. Judging by how he spends money, it'll probably cost at least 100,000 taels of silver."

"That's 280,000 taels a year?" Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he continued, "And his salary? How much is it each year?"

Madam: "How much can the salary be? At most, it's only a little over three thousand taels a year."

"So little? How will that be enough for him?"

The madam said, "People like them don't live off that meager salary. They can easily earn twenty or thirty thousand taels a year just from extra income."

The madam said, "However, Jin Jiuling is famous and has many skills. People often ask him for help and have to pay him for his services. This is the main source of his income."

Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he asked curiously, "Could it be 200,000 taels?"

Madam: "How could that be? Not everyone is as wealthy as the Hua family in Jiangnan. At most, they only make seventy or eighty thousand taels a year."

"So his annual income was about 113,000 taels, let's say 120,000 taels. But his expenses were as high as 280,000 taels."

"This deficit is too large; no wonder he became a master thief."

*********

The Crown Prince of Pingnan fled the mansion in a panic and was still not calm when he returned home.

"These female knights-errant are so shameless! How can they just tell a man they've only just met that they like him?"

That's what he muttered to himself, but deep down he couldn't help but feel a bit of fondness for Showing Off His Strange Encounters.

"No, the great cause is not yet accomplished; how can I indulge in sentimental feelings?"

Realizing his own emotions, the Crown Prince of Pingnan quickly picked up his sword and began practicing the sword techniques repeatedly. He had always had this habit: whenever he felt agitated, he would practice his swordplay, which always helped him calm down.

After an unknown amount of time had passed since the training began, a trusted confidant responsible for gathering intelligence entered the training ground.

"Your Highness, we have just received news that Miss Xiu has mastered the Celestial Flying Immortal Technique."

"What?" The Prince of Pingnan asked in disbelief, "She learned it so quickly?"

The confidant was silent for a moment, then continued, "Not only did she learn it, she also used the 'Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens' all over the city, leaving the ground of the capital city full of craters."

“The Jingzhao Prefecture knew that she was from our Pingnan Prince’s Mansion, so they sent people to demand payment for the road repairs.”