Chapter 974 The Effects of Feng Tianwei"s Promotion
"Here it comes!" Su Yang warned Mei Ying before releasing a stream of hot Yang Qi inside her cave, filling it up immediately.
Mei Ying could feel her stomach bloating from the creampie that made her feel as though she was pregnant again.
"Haaa… haaa… haaa…" Mei Ying panted heavily afterward.
However, Su Yang wasn't finished, and he continued to plow her cave with his rod for many hours until Mei Ying fell asleep from exhaustion.
Of course, since Mei Ying was a mortal, she wouldn't be able to absorb his Yang Qi, so Su Yang purposefully released Yang Qi that didn't contain any spiritual energy within them so he wouldn't hurt her.
And because Mei Ying is a mortal, he wouldn't benefit from absorbing his Yin Qi either.
In other words, their session was just casual sex between a mortal and a cultivator, so it really couldn't be considered real dual cultivation.
After their session ended, Su Yang covered Mei Ying's body with a blanket and proceeded to cultivate in silence until the following morning.
"Mmm… Mother…? Where did you go?"
Mei Xing became a little nervous when she woke up without Mei Ying by her side, as she was used to seeing her mother when she woke up, so not seeing Mei Ying made her nervous.
"Mother! Are you here?" Mei Xing went to check the bathroom, but Mei Ying was nowhere to be found.
"Calm down. She's sleeping in my room." Su Yang suddenly came out of his room and said to her.
Mei Xing released a sigh of relief after hearing his words, but then she wondered why her mother suddenly decided to sleep in Su Yang's room.
Seeing Mei Xing's curious look, Su Yang said with a smile on his face, "I was giving her a massage, and since she didn't want to disturb your sleep, she came to my room, where she fell asleep."
"I see…" Mei Xing nodded.
"I am going to wash my face now! Oh! And good morning, Manager!"
"Good morning."
Once Mei Xing went to wash her face, Su Yang turned to look at Mei Ying, who was sitting on his bed and covering her naked body with the blanket and smiled.
"Thank you… I wouldn't know how to explain it to her, nor do I want her to know about it since it might make things awkward for us." Mei Ying said to her.
"Don't worry, I won't tell her anything. However, she's a smart girl. I'm sure she'll find out about it eventually if we continue doing this… unless you don't want to do it anymore?" Su Yang said with a slight chuckle.
"I-I want to do it again…" Mei Ying quickly responded with a somewhat red face.
Sometime later, by the time Mei Xing returned from washing her face, Mei Ying was fully dressed and waiting in the living room.
"Good morning, mother." Mei Xing said to her.
"Good morning."
Mei Ying also went to wash her face shortly after.
Once she returned, Su Yang said to Mei Xing, "Are you ready to work?"
"Yes!" She nodded with enthusiasm.
"Then I will see you later." Su Yang said to Mei Ying with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Yes, I will see you two later."
Mei Xing and Su Yang left the hotel shortly after and walked to the massage parlor together.
However, to their surprise, there was already a massive line waiting outside their building.
"W-What is going on? Why are there suddenly so many people?" Mei Xing was startled by the line that was so long she couldn't even see the end.
Although she was used to seeing people wait outside the store before it opened for business, this is her first time seeing so many people, and they all looked more wealthy and important than their previous customers.
"This must be due to her advertisements." Su Yang quickly understood the situation.
"Who?" Mei Xing asked.
"The woman you mistook for a burglar yesterday," he said.
"T-That woman? She was famous?"
"I don't know, but she owns a business in the Red Light District."
"The Red Light District?!" Mei Xing was shocked to hear this, and she said, "Only the most influential and successful individuals within the City of Pleasure are allowed to have a business in the Red Light District! I can't believe that I mistook someone like that for a burglar!"
Mei Xing was terrified after realizing this fact, as she knew very well that offending someone in the Red Light District was the worst thing one can do within the City of Pleasure.
If Su Yang hadn't arrived in time to clear the misunderstanding, she would've called the authorities on her! However, would the authorities that work for the City of Pleasure arrest someone from the Red Light District? She would end up getting arrested herself for trying to do so!
"Thank you, Manager, for saving my life!" Mei Xing quickly bowed to him.
"What are you talking about?" Su Yang raised his eyebrows.
"If you didn't stop me yesterday, I would've offended that woman, which would be catastrophic for me and even my mother!" She said.
"I see…" Su Yang chuckled.
"Anyways, let's open up the store."
As Su Yang and Mei Xing approached the building, the people standing in line stopped their chattering and turned to stare at them.
"Is that the man that made Madam Feng climax with his fingers alone? I cannot wait to experience it for myself!"
"Madam Feng told me that she'd never felt such satisfaction before until she met him!"
"He looks pretty ordinary outside, but the monster inside his pants is anything but ordinary according to Madam Feng…"
"If even someone like Madam Feng called it a 'monster', it must truly be extraordinary…"
"However, with so many people here, it'll definitely take a while before we can experience it… even with the priority system."
"I don't care even if I have to wait an entire year! I will experience it!"
A few minutes later, once they were ready, Su Yang opened up the business, and Mei Xing would greet the customers with a nervous smile, as she felt a little pressured by the customers' overwhelming aura, feeling like she was suddenly tossed into the center of a building filled with nothing but rich and powerful people as a commoner.
Chapter 975 A New Receptionis
About two hours after the Heavenly Massage opened, a beautiful woman could be seen skipping the line and walking straight to the entrance.
When the people in line saw this, they immediately called her out.
"Hey! The line is back there! You dare skip the line so daringly?!"
The beautiful woman turned to look at the people before speaking with an apologetic smile on her face, "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but I am not here as a client. I actually work here."
"Eh?"
The people outside were surprised to hear this.
Since when did they have another worker besides the little girl working in the front?
After explaining the situation to the customers, Mei Ying opened the door and went inside.
"Welcome to Heavenly Massage— Eh? Mother? What are you doing here?" Mei Xing was surprised by her sudden appearance.
Mei Ying chuckled and pointed to the uniform she was wearing.
Mei Xing's eyes widened with shock when she saw her mother's clothing that resembled her own work uniform.
"T-That's—! Does this mean you'll also be working for the Manager?!" Mei Xing asked, her voice filled with excitement.
"Yes, I will be working with you starting today. Though we might not actually work side by side since there isn't any need for the both of us at once." Mei Ying nodded.
"I have spoken with the Manager. He said that we can take turns working each day so that you don't have to worry about missing sleep from studying, and I want you to rest every now and then as well. It's not healthy for a young girl like you to be working every day, after all."
"B-But this job is easy! I only need to greet people and some other minor stuff!" Mei Xing said.
Mei Ying chuckled and said, "If you're worried about your salary being cut in half for working less, don't worry. The Manager said that he would count both of our working hours together, so my salary will also be your salary."
"If you say it like that… I guess so…" Mei Xing nodded.
Since her salary won't be deducted and she gets to study without worrying about missing sleep, she didn't have any reason to refuse.
'I have always thought about working the same job as my mother, but I didn't think it would turn out like this…' Mei Xing thought to herself.
"I will only be observing you today so I know what to do tomorrow." Mei Ying said to her a moment later.
"Okay." Mei Xing nodded.
Mei Ying then took a seat at the corner of the room and proceeded to spend the entire day watching her daughter working diligently.
Of course, since she was being watched by her mother, Mei Xing subconsciously worked even harder than before so that she wouldn't disappoint her mother.
'This is my first time watching her work…' Mei Ying held a motherly smile on her face throughout the entire day.
At the end of the day, after Su Yang finished massaging his last client for the day, he came outside and said while looking at Mei Ying, "Well? What do you think?"
"This place is much busier than I'd anticipated. I thought Mei Xing was exaggerating when she first told me how popular this place was…"
"It will only get busier in the coming days, so make sure you're prepared." Su Yang said with a smile.
Mei Ying nodded with a solemn look on her face.
"Anyways, let's go home."
They then returned to the hotel and retired for the day.
The following morning, Mei Ying said to her daughter, "Mei Xing, today will be your first day off. However, that doesn't mean you should be wandering the streets since it's still dangerous outside."
"I know, mother. I intend on staying here to study the cultivation technique." Mei Xing said.
"Okay."
Mei Ying then left the hotel with Su Yang.
Once they arrived at the massage parlor, Mei Ying took a seat behind the desk, something Mei Xing couldn't do because she was too short, feeling slightly nervous for some reason.
"You'll be fine." Su Yang patted her back.
"I will do my best, Manager," she responded in a resolute voice.
Before going into the massage room, Su Yang whispered in Mei Ying's voice, "If you want, we can have some fun in the back after the day ends. This is the perfect opportunity since Mei Xing isn't here."
Mei Ying's face immediately turned rosy after hearing his words, and she nodded in a bashful manner.
A few minutes later, the doors opened, and Mei Ying began greeting the customers.
"Welcome to Heavenly Massage!" Mei Ying used her daughter as an example and greeted them with the exact same bright smile on her face.
"The waitlist is currently at five months if you don't mind…"
"Yes, there is a priority system, but all of the priority slots for today have already been reserved."
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but to keep things fair, the priority system is on a first come first serve basis, so we can only take reservations for the day."
"Thank you for your understanding."
Time passed extremely quickly, and before she was even aware, it was already time for the store to close.
"Great work today." Su Yang said to her after satisfying his last customer for the day.
"Thank you… Mei Xing made it sound so easy, but it's really not as easy as she made it look. My voice is already starting to change from speaking so much." Mei Ying said.
Su Yang chuckled, "Don't worry, I have some medicine that will help you with your throat and voice."
"Thank you."
"Why don't I give you a massage? You definitely earned it."
Mei Ying nodded, and she made sure to lock the doors before following Su Yang into the massage room, where they would conduct passionate acts that couldn't be done with her daughter around.
But with Mei Xing in an entirely different location doing her own things, Mei Ying was allowed to go all out and act as her heart desired.
Chapter 976 Outrage
After spending an hour doing passionate things inside the massage room, Mei Ying and Su Yang finally left the store and returned to the hotel.
"Did you accept more customers than usual today as well, Manager?" Mei Xing asked him when she noticed that they'd returned later than usual.
"Y-Yes, something like that." Mei Ying nodded.
"How is your progress with the cultivation technique?" Su Yang asked her a moment later.
"Although I still don't fully understand it, I am starting to comprehend the beginning parts," she said.
"That's great." Su Yang smiled.
Sometime later, the mother and daughter pair went to sleep while Su Yang cultivated in his room.
The following morning, Su Yang and Mei Xing left the hotel while Mei Ying stayed behind, as it was her day off.
Once they reached the massage parlor, Mei Xing mumbled in a dazed voice, "There are even more people today than last time…"
"It will only become more crowded as time passes." Su Yang chuckled.
Mei Xing turned to look at him with a worried look, and she asked him, "Manager, isn't this pretty bad? The waitlist is already reaching half a year. At this rate, it will continue to grow endlessly, and with the number of customers we're accepting per day, we will never be able to clear this queue."
"Even worse, you won't stay in the City of Pleasure forever, so there will be a lot of heartbroken customers when you leave…"
Su Yang smiled and said, "You really care about the customers. Don't worry, I have something in mind. Although it's not perfect, it will definitely fix our problem."
"To be completely honest with you, the business grew quicker than I'd anticipated. I had planned on changing the system later, but since things are like this now, I will have to make some changes to my plan."
Once they entered the massage parlor, Su Yang began writing on a sign.
Mei Xing read the sign once it was complete, and her eyebrows would raise a little with every sentence she read.
"Manager, won't you anger the customers with this? They definitely won't like this change." Mei Xing said to him afterward with a fearful look on her face.
"I will definitely make many people angry, but this is the only way."
Mei Xing swallowed nervously, as she could imagine the mayhem the sign would cause once it's revealed to the public.
Sometime later, Su Yang went outside and placed the sign right beside the door so that it could be seen by everyone.
"Due to the increased traffic and demand, I have decided to make some necessary changes to our business. I hope for your understanding." Su Yang respectfully bowed to the customers waiting outside before returning to the store.
The people outside quickly gathered in front of the sign to see what had changed, and their eyes widened with shock when they finished reading it.
"Important notice: due to the increased demand and the waitlist growing too large, the price for each session has been increased to 100 medium-grade spirit stones. Furthermore, the sessions that used to last for 30 minutes will now only last for 10 minutes."
"As for those that are already on the waitlist, there will be no changes to the price, but the time for each session will be decreased to 15 minutes."
"The priority system will now cost 1 high-grade spirit stone instead of 15 medium-grade spirit stones."
The customers were dumbfounded by the notice that basically increased the price by an insane amount, and they would even receive a shorter session for it.
As Mei Xing had expected, the notice immediately caused outrage among the customers.
"How could you ask for 100 medium-grade spirit stones for a 10-minute massage session?! This is worse than robbery in daylight!"
"No matter how good your massage is, there's no way it's worth 100 medium-grade spirit stones, much less one high-grade spirit stone that's worth 10,000 medium-grade spirit stones!"
"Are you trying to kill your business right after it started getting traction?!"
Unhappy customers flooded the massage parlor, and Mei Xing was immediately overwhelmed by so many complaints.
"I…I…"
For the first time since she started working, Mei Xing felt an urge to cry from the pressure, something she hasn't experienced before even in her previous workplaces.
"Please calm down, esteemed guests. I completely understand your anger, and as much as I want to keep things the same, it simply isn't feasible. The waitlist is already half a year long, and it will only continue to grow longer."
"As grateful as I am that my business found success, I do not wish for my customers to wait years to finally receive my service, nor do I wish to stay in the City of Pleasure forever."
Although the customers were still angry, they couldn't find any faults in Su Yang's reasoning. Certainly, nobody there prefers to wait for years to get a massage from him, but the price was simply too expensive for the majority of them to even consider."
Perhaps they wouldn't have been as angry if the Heavenly Massage existed in the Red Light District where people are used to spending high-grade spirit stones without thinking, but because it's located in the Pink Light District, one of the cheapest areas, the ridiculous price only seemed more ridiculous.
"Hmph! I am out of here! And don't expect me to come back!"
"Me too! This is outrageous!"
The customers began leaving in droves, and within minutes, the long line outside the Heavenly Massage had become empty.
"Hahaha! What a damn fool to destroy his own business because of greed!"
"And here I was starting to think highly of that place! What a joke!"
The other store owners celebrated the Heavenly Massage's downfall.
"M-Manager… What should we do? Everyone left…" Mei Xing looked at him, her urges to cry growing stronger because of the result.
Su Yang showed her a calm smile and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Chapter 977 Vandalized
A couple of hours have passed since the Heavenly Massage opened for business, but Mei Xing hasn't seen a single new customer this entire time.
"Haaaa… I have never felt so bored at work before…" Mei Xing sat on the chair behind the reception desk for the first time since she started working there, as she would normally be too busy to even sit down.
The place also felt awfully quiet compared to before, making it uncomfortable for her, who wasn't used to this sort of environment.
A few minutes later, someone entered the door and asked, "Excuse me, is the sign outside real?"
Mei Xing stood up and said, "Yes, it is real."
She has repeated these few words so much today that she'd lost count.
"So I have to pay 5 medium-grade spirit stones for a 15-minute massage now?" The woman then asked.
"Unfortunately." Mei Xing nodded.
The customer clearly wasn't happy about the changes, but she had waited many days for this, and if she leaves now, she would have to pay 100 medium-grade spirit stones for a 10-minute massage if she ever wants to come back in the future.
Therefore, she could only grit her teeth and accept the changes.
"I understand… Here are five medium-grade spirit stones."
The woman paid the fee and proceeded to wait for her turn.
A few minutes later, someone came out of the massage room with her face fully flushed in redness, and she looked incredibly drunk.
The woman that was supposed to go next raised her eyebrows when she saw this, but she ignored it and went inside the massage room.
Once she entered the massage room, Su Yang greeted her with his head lowered, "I apologize for the sudden changes, esteemed guest, but the changes were necessary. In order to compensate for the inconvenience, I will work twice as hard to please you."
"I-I don't mind…" The woman nodded and quickly laid her body on the mattress.
Su Yang immediately began working on the woman's body, using techniques that he normally wouldn't use.
"Aaah~!"
The woman quickly began moaning even though Su Yang barely started his massage.
"W-What is this feeling?!" The woman exclaimed as she could feel every cell in her body trembling from excitement.
"It's a technique I learned in some ancient book when I was still studying to be a scholar." Su Yang said, making up some random excuse for the technique he'd created.
"Y-You read books meant for massages when you're trying to become a scholar? Couldn't that have contributed to why you failed to become one?" The woman asked.
"Perhaps… But I don't regret it." Su Yang chuckled.
"F-Forget the massage! I want you to massage inside my body with your thing!" The woman could no longer endure it and pointed at his pelvis area.
"Certainly."
Su Yang didn't refuse and immediately removed his clothes, showing the woman his stiff dragon.
"Heavens…" The woman muttered in a dazed voice as she was mesmerized by the magnificent view of his dragon.
Su Yang wasted no time and inserted his rod inside her cave that was already soaking wet from his minute-long massage.
Fifteen minutes passed by in a flash, and the woman laid on the mattress with a vulgarly satisfied expression on her face.
"T-That was definitely worth it…" She mumbled in a low voice.
Even if she has to pay 100 medium-grade spirit stones in the future for another massage, she wouldn't hesitate to do so. In fact, if she had the money, she would come back every day as a priority customer, as they were allowed to skip the line.
Every single customer on that day had the same thoughts as this woman after experiencing Su Yang's godlike techniques.
However, regardless of how much they enjoyed it, there were still little to no customers for the Heavenly Massage.
At the end of the day, someone familiar showed up at their door.
"Xiao Yang! How dare you make this mess right after I advertised for you!? Do you have any idea how many people came to me today to complain?! I have truly lost face today, and I demand an explanation!" Feng Tianwei shouted at him when he came out of the massage room.
"Do I really have to explain it to you? You should understand why I did what I did as a fellow business owner."
"I understand it very well, but I am asking you why you had to do it right after I advertised for you?! You could've waited a few more weeks before making the changes!!!"
Su Yang shook his head and said, "A few weeks? I might as well not make any changes since the waitlist will be years long by then."
"And changes like this should be made sooner than later, as the outrage will only increase the longer wait."
"Che!" Feng Tianwei sneered coldly.
"How about this? To apologize for your inconvenience, I will give you a free massage right now? It'll be thirty minutes long as well."
"Y-You're quite shameless, you know that, right?"
"You don't want it?" Su Yang raised his eyebrows.
"I never refused!" Feng Tianwei said as she entered the massage room.
Su Yang then looked at Mei Xing and said to her, "You can go home for today. I will be with you after I am finished with this last one."
"Okay." Mei Xing nodded.
Normally, she would insist on staying behind until he leaves too, but she was nervous around Feng Tianwei, and working today was especially tiring even though she worked less than usual.
Once Mei Xing left, Su Yang proceeded to give Feng Tianwei a passionate massage.
At the end of the massage, Feng Tianwei was twitching all over the place like a fish out of water.
"Y-You went easy on me last time?" Feng Tianwei realized this fact afterward and was in shock.
"I wouldn't call it 'going easy'." Su Yang chuckled.
"Anyways, do you think my abilities justify the price I am asking for?" He suddenly asked her.
Feng Tianwei didn't immediately respond and pondered for a minute before speaking, "As much as I hate to admit it, I would definitely pay 100 medium-grade spirit stones for a massage even if it's only for 10 minutes. In fact… I might even be willing to pay more."
"Thank you for your honesty." Su Yang said to her as he wore his clothes.
"Why don't you just move to the Red Light District at this point? That would be the best choice for you and your business as your prices are already reaching our level, and there are plenty of customers who will be able to afford your prices."
"If you stay here in the Pink Light District, where it's mostly for mortals, you won't receive many customers."
Su Yang smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice, but my goal isn't to make as much money as possible."
"Then what is your goal?" Feng Tianwei asked him with narrowed eyes.
"That's a secret."
"Whatever. Keep it a secret then. I don't really care anyway." Feng Tianwei sneered.
And then she continued, "If you go out of business one day and need a job, you can come work for me as my personal masseur. I will make sure to pay you generously."
Su Yang chuckled, "Thank you. I will keep that in mind."
Feng Tianwei left the massage parlor shortly after, and Su Yang closed the store for the day.
"Welcome back, Manager." Mei Xing greeted him.
"Manager… I heard about the situation from Mei Xing. Is everything really going to be okay?" Mei Ying asked him.
"Yes, everything will be fine. The business will slow down for a bit, but that's exactly what I wanted. Furthermore, our waitlist will last us for another 3 months since everyone's time got shortened by half."
"It's going to be a little chaotic for the next few days, and there will be many angry customers, so allow me to apologize for the inconvenience in advance." Su Yang said to them.
"Please… You don't need to apologize to us. It's our job to deal with the customers." Mei Ying said.
"That's right, Manager! I will be satisfied as long as I am working for you. Even if you decide to cut our income, I won't complain." Mei Xing said.
Su Yang chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I won't lower your pay even if we go bankrupt, as that was part of our agreement."
Sometime later, the hotel workers brought dinner to their room.
"Are you not going to eat, Manager? I have never seen you eat before." Mei Xing asked him.
"I don't need food to survive at my current cultivation," he said.
"Even if that's true, you should still eat once in a while."
"Alright, I will eat with you tomorrow."
"Okay!"
Once they finished eating and they washed their bodies, Mei Ying brushed Mei Xing's hair for a few minutes before they went to sleep.
The following morning, Su Yang and Mei Ying left the hotel to go to work.
However, they stopped in front of the massage parlor and didn't go instead.
"This is horrible… Why would someone this?" Mei Ying covered her mouth in shock as she looked at the building that was vandalized quite badly.
The walls were damaged, looking like someone had slashed it with a sword, and there was foul-smelling trash littered in front of the building.
The door to the building was also destroyed, and if one looked inside from the outside, one would see that the inside had also been vandalized.
"Interesting…" Su Yang mumbled to himself in a low voice when he saw the mess, his gaze as tranquil as a calm lake.
Chapter 978: Vandalized(2)
"Hehe… Serves him right…"
Su Yang could hear the other business owners laughing to themselves, but they didn't give him the impression that they were the culprit.
"Excuse me, fellow Daoists, do you have any idea what happened here?" Su Yang decided to act like a good neighbor and asked them in a calm voice.
"Huh? We didn't see anything."
They quickly shook their heads.
Obviously, they were lying. After all, the City of Pleasure never sleeps, so there was simply no way that someone could've made such a mess and got away with it without any witnesses.
It was obvious to Su Yang that these people knew who did it, but they weren't going to tell him because they didn't like his business that grew too large too quickly, invoking their jealousy.
Of course, Su Yang didn't care if they told him or not.
"What should we do now? We cannot open the business in this condition." Mei Ying said to him.
"Don't worry, I can clean up most of it."
Su Yang then waved his sleeves, summoning his alchemy flames and using them to burn away all of the trash without damaging the property.
This greatly surprised everyone there, as this was Su Yang's first display of alchemy skills.
"You're an Alchemy Master as well?" Mei Ying looked at him with awe in her eyes.
"Well, I did study some alchemy as a hobby," he said with a smile.
"Why didn't you become an Alchemy Master instead?" Mei Ying couldn't help but ask him.
"I like this job better," he chuckled in a mischievous manner.
It took a couple of minutes, but Su Yang eventually cleaned out all of the trash using his alchemy flames.
However, the foul smell still lingered, and the walls and door were still damaged.
Although there was nothing he could do about the damaged walls for now, he had a method to deal with the smell.
"Follow me inside." Su Yang said to Mei Ying, who followed him inside.
Mei Ying immediately started choking from the intensive smell that was much worse inside due to the enclosed space.
Once they were inside, Su Yang retrieved some ingredients and concocted a pill on the spot.
Mei Ying could suddenly smell a sweet fragrance within the air, causing her to look at the pill in Su Yang's hands.
"Manager, what's that?"
"An aroma bomb of sorts," he responded in a calm manner before crushing the pill and scattering the pill all over the place like he was scattering one's ashes.
He then waved his sleeves, creating a small gust of wind that quickly swept through the building and outside, immediately removing the foul smell.
"Wow, it smells so good. I have never smelt anything this pleasant before." Mei Ying, who was just choking from the foul smell, began taking deep breathes with a relaxed look on her face.
The sweet fragrance didn't just stop inside the building and quickly spread outside to the streets, causing the pedestrians to raise their eyebrows as they wondered what was creating this wonderful smell.
"What about the building?" Mei Ying asked him a moment later.
Although the trash and foul smell were gone, their building was still damaged.
Su Yang shrugged and said, "As long as this building doesn't collapse, we can still accept customers."
"I understand."…
Mei Ying sat behind the reception desk once they opened the business, but since there was no longer a door for their building, Mei Ying could watch people passing by their store while glancing at the inside with interest and curiosity.
"What happened here?" One of their customers asked as she waited for the current customer to be finished.
"Well… We got vandalized by somebody," Mei Ying sighed.
"Why would someone do such a thing…? Even if they aren't happy with the changes, to stoop so low…"
"We don't know who did it. It could've been a customer, or it could've been someone else entirely. We also don't know their motives."
"Is that so…"
The customer then said, "Why don't you try asking the city for help? They can investigate for you."
"I will let the Manager know. Thank you." Mei Ying said to her.
The day continued with every other customer that entered their building asking the same questions.
By the end of the day, Mei Ying had lost track of the number of times she had to tell her customers about the vandalization.
"Good work today," Su Yang said to her after he finished satisfying his last customer for the day.
"You too." Mei Ying nodded.
"How about a massage?" He then asked her.
Of course, Mei Ying didn't refuse and followed him to the massage room.
An hour later, they returned to the hotel.
"Welcome back, Mother, Manager." Mei Xing said to them, completely unaware of the incident today.
"Mei Xing, there's something you should know…" Mei Ying approached her with a solemn expression.
"Did something happen?" Mei Xing could tell that something unfortunate had happened based on the atmosphere.
Mei Ying nodded and proceeded to explain to her about the vandalized store.
"What! How could someone be so shameless! Manager, you should definitely report this to the city and have it investigated!"
However, Su Yang shook his head and said, "I won't find the culprit if I start an investigation."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Nothing," he said with a calm smile on his face.
"Eh? How could you do nothing? How will that help?" Mei Xing raised her eyebrows in a puzzled manner.
"Just wait and watch. The culprit will definitely try to vandalize the building again when they see that we had ignored their hard work."
"And when they try to vandalize the store again, you'll be there to catch them, right?!" Mei Xing added.
Su Yang nodded.
"But Manager, how are you going to capture them if you're here?" Mei Xing then asked a logical question.
"I have already set up a trap. I don't need to do anything myself," he shrugged.
"I see… I cannot wait to see the culprit captured!" Mei Xing nodded.
Chapter 979: Ignoring Their Efforts
The following morning, Su Yang and Mei Xing prepared for work.
"Manager, are you sure you don't want me to be there today just in case something happens?" Mei Ying asked him.
"It'll be fine." Su Yang nodded.
Sometime later, they arrived at the massage parlor.
"Wow, the damage is worst than I'd expected." Mei Xing said as she looked at the damaged walls and broken door.
"Trust me, it was much worse yesterday with the trash and foul smell." Su Yang chuckled.
"How can you laugh at your own business getting destroyed, Manager? I would be very angry and upset if I were you," Mei Xing sighed, unable to comprehend his thoughts.
"Also, it looks like they didn't return to trash the place again, which is a relief."
"I'm sure they'll return. In fact, I really hope they do," Su Yang said in a calm voice.
They entered the building shortly after.
"Since the door is broken, robbers can easily enter this place and steal everything, right? Do you have a solution for that, Manager?" Mei Xing asked him as she stood on the chair behind the reception desk.
"Robbers? They can rob this place all they want. There's nothing of value here— if there's even anything at all."
Mei Xing looked around and sure enough, there wasn't anything for the robbers to take.
There was no furniture besides the chair behind the reception desk, and the money and everything else in the drawers are taken before they leave.
The massage room was even more empty, as Su Yang carries everything inside his storage ring.
Unless the robbers needed a desk or a chair, there was no point robbing this place.
"Also, you will probably be asked about the incident for the entire day. You can just tell them that we'd been vandalized." Su Yang said to her before entering the massage room.
Their first customer entered the store a few minutes later, and just as Su Yang had said, the customer asked Mei Xing about the condition of the store.
"Yes, we'd been vandalized by some very bad people." Mei Xing said.
And she continued, "But you don't have to worry, because we will find the culprits and make them pay for their actions!"
"I hope you catch the culprits as well."
The day quickly passed.
"Ahhhh… I am so tired— more tired than usual." Mei Xing slumped on the chair in an exhausted manner.
She didn't think it would cost so much energy to answer the same question repeatedly; it was an experience she will never forget.
"I really hope this doesn't continue for too long," she sighed.
The two of them returned to the hotel shortly after.
The following day, it was Mei Ying's turn to work with Su Yang….
"Still nothing, huh?" Su Yang mumbled when he noticed no changes to the place.
"You sound like you actually want the place to be vandalized again…" Mei Ying looked at him with a bittersweet smile on her face.
"Of course. How else am I going to catch the culprits?"
"If you catch the culprits, what are you going to do to them?" Mei Ying asked out of curiosity.
"I will kill all of them, obviously," he responded in a cold voice, taking her by surprise.
Seeing Mei Ying's startled expression, Su Yang burst out laughing and said, "I am obviously joking."
"I am a scholar— at least I consider myself as a scholar somewhat. Scholars don't kill people… At least I don't think they do."
"Even if you kill them… it's a common thing within the cultivation world, right?" Mei Ying suddenly asked.
"Yes, that's right. Some people will kill another because they were looked at funny; it's a cold-hearted world where only the strong survives."
"And where weak people must rely on the strong to survive… just like me…"
Su Yang looked at her for a moment before speaking, "Everyone starts out as weak. It's what you do that truly defines your value as an individual. There are some incredibly weak yet influential and powerful people out there. After all, strength isn't the only power in existence."
Sometime later, they entered the building and began another day of work.
At the end of the day, they returned to the hotel without any incidents.
They continued this for a couple more days.
Meanwhile, somewhere within the City of Pleasure, a group of individuals sat before a round table while drinking booze as they chatted.
"It's been a week, but that massage parlor has been operating normally, almost like they aren't even going to acknowledge our efforts." One of these individuals said.
"Bastards! Even though we went through so much effort into trashing that place! I heard he'd managed to clean it up within minutes!"
"We should go back there and trash it again! This time, we should destroy the place so thoroughly that there won't even be a place for them to work at!"
"I agree! Let's burn that trash to the ground!"
Thus, this group of individuals waited until it was way past midnight to approach the Heavenly Massage just like last time, but they weren't there to trash the place today. No, they were going to destroy it— burn the entire building down so that Su Yang could not pretend like everything was okay.
The business owners noticed the group of individuals and could immediately recognize them as the culprits from last time, and they wondered if they were going to trash the Heavenly Massage again.
Of course, they all hoped for this to happen, so they didn't even bother to intervene and watched as this group of individuals began pouring some sort of liquid substance around the Heavenly Massage that was highly flammable.
When the others saw this, they realized that they were not going to trash the place but destroy it entirely!
Despite that, nobody on the street bothered them, much less intervene.
Meanwhile, inside a certain hotel, Su Yang, who had been cultivating silently suddenly opened his eyes, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
"At last, you've finally decided to show up…"
Chapter 980: Why He Failed to Become a Scholar
After spending a few minutes pouring their flammable liquid all around the massage parlor owned by Su Yang, the group of individuals stepped back and prepared to burn the entire building down.
Meanwhile, the witnesses could only gather outside and watch them in silence. As for the shop owners on that street, they were ecstatic and couldn't wait to see the fire.
"Let's get rid of this place and get out of here!" One of the thugs said.
"Right!" Another person took out a match and prepared to light it up.
However, right as he lit the match up, he suddenly felt a dreadful presence appear behind him, causing him to subconsciously turn around with a sweaty forehead.
"Eh?" The thug raised his eyebrows when he couldn't see anybody standing behind him except the spectators in the distance.
'Am I imagining things?' He wondered inwardly.
"L-Look over there! It's Xiao Yang!"
Someone there suddenly shouted out loud, causing everyone there to turn to look, and to their surprise, an ordinary young man wearing plain white robes could be seen approaching their location with a calm look on his face.
In fact, even his steps were oddly relaxed and steady, which greatly puzzled the spectators.
Who could possibly remain so calm when they are about to witness their own business go down in flames? He was acting like the business that was about to be burned wasn't even his! What kind of store owner was he?!
"S-Stay right there if you don't want me to burn down your building!" The thug holding the lit match quickly spoke to him in a commanding voice, even showing him the match that had a small flame burning on its tip.
Su Yang stopped a few meters away from them and spoke in a calm voice, "I don't recognize any of you. Why are you doing this?"
"We are doing this obviously because you had offended someone!" One of them laughed.
Su Yang raised his eyebrows and said, "Why don't you tell me the one who told you to do this so that I could fix my mistake? We could even negotiate."
Su Yang knew that these thugs had been hired to vandalize his store even without needing to ask them.
The thugs were definitely surprised that Su Yang knew that they'd been hired, and they wondered how he got this knowledge.
'Or maybe he's just guessing it?'
"Hmph! Who said we were hired?" One of them then said.
"Oh? Then you're doing this on your own accord? Tell me, what did I do to offend you? "
"I refuse," one of them quickly responded.
"Is that so… Then allow me to guess…"
Su Yang made a pondering face before speaking, "Are you guys jealous that I am only serving females and not males? Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it. If you're not satisfied with the results, you can go ahead and burn down the building."
"F-Fuck you! Who would be envious?!"
"Who said that we wanted a damn massage from you?! I'd rather die than let you touch me!"
The thugs refuted his claims that they were vandalizing his business out of spite and envy….
"I guess we share the same sentiment— because I'd rather die than massage a man's body." Su Yang spoke, even shuddering as he said the line.
Then he continued in a cold voice, "Since you won't tell me why you're destroying my store, there are no longer any reasons to keep you all alive."
"Wha—"
The thugs were dumbfounded by his words, but before they could even respond, Su Yang retrieved an ordinary sword out of thin air and swung it, killing one of the thugs before they realized.
As for who he decided to kill first; it was the thug holding the match, and he'd even extinguished the flame on the match alongside the man's life.
The other thugs didn't even realize what had just occurred until their companion's head fell onto the ground, making a weird noise.
"Y-You bastard!"
The other four immediately retrieved their weapons once they realized what had happened, but that didn't matter, as Su Yang easily killed another one with a casual swing of his sword.
All of the thugs were cultivators, but they were only at the early levels of the Sovereign Spirit Realm.
They were simply no match for Su Yang even if he didn't use all of his strength.
And before they were aware, Su Yang had cut down their number by more than half.
However, Su Yang stopped killing them once there were only two left, and he looked at them with a calm look on his face, "The first one to tell me about your client gets to live."
"B-Bullshit! You'll just kill us afterward!" One of them said.
Su Yang shook his head and said, "I am a scholar. I wouldn't do such a dishonorable thing as going back on my own words."
Hearing his words, one of them quickly said," I-I will tell you! I will tell you everything! Please, just spare me!"
The other thug turned to look at his companion of many years with a look of disbelief on his face.
"H-How dare you betray—"
However, before the thug could even finish his sentence, Su Yang casually flicked his wrist, killing the thug in an instant.
The crowd was shocked by Su Yang's brutal execution in public.
Although the thugs were wrong for their actions, did he really have to execute them in such a manner? And right outside his own business building, no less?
They are beginning to understand why he failed to become a scholar. Perhaps the reason he failed was not because of his lack of knowledge, but his unbefitting character.
The people there feel like they were understanding Su Yang more after witnessing his actions today, and they no longer dared to underestimate him!
After killing the thug, Su Yang stored the sword back into his storage ring before turning to look at the last thug alive.
"If you don't start talking, I will reconsider keeping you alive," he said.
"R-Right away!" The thug quickly said.
Chapter 981: The True Culprit
The last thug to remain alive kowtowed before Su Yang as he spoke about his client, "The person who hired us to vandalize your business is a man named Qian Fuju— he's the owner of a brothel in the Yellow Light District. He came to us out of the blue one day and offered us a thousand middle-grade spirit stones to vandalize your store. That's all I know about him, I swear!"
"Qian Fuju? Yellow Light District? How did I end up offending this person? I don't even know where the Yellow Light District is located, nor have I ever stepped foot inside that place. Are you sure you're telling me the truth?" Su Yang raised his eyebrows, as he wasn't familiar with this name even in the slightest.
"I have no idea. We were only hired to vandalize your store. He didn't tell us anything more than his name." The thug responded in a desperate voice.
Su Yang narrowed his eyes at the thug, and he could tell that the thug wasn't lying.
"I have told you everything I know! You'll let me go now, right?!" The thug said to him.
Su Yang remained silent.
The thug shuddered at his cold stare, and he continued, "Y-Y-You promised that you will spare me if I tell you about our client! Or are you going to go back on your own words before so many witnesses after everything you've said?! Nobody will ever believe you again if you kill me!"
Hearing his words, Su Yang smiled and said, "Calm down, will you? I haven't even said anything and you're already making your own conclusions."
"I will let you go for now, but that doesn't mean you're free to go just yet."
"W-What do you mean by that?" The thug said with a frown.
"I promised to let you live if you told me about your client. While it's true that you did tell me about this Qian Fuju, how do I know that you're actually telling the truth? For all I know, you could have given me some random name."
"I-I swear it's real! His name is truly Qian Fuju! We investigated him after we received this job to make sure he wasn't trying to do us dirty! He's a pretty famous individual within the Yellow Light District who works at the Grand Mountain Brothel!"
"Whether it's true or not… I will figure it out myself when I visit him later." Su Yang said.
"You can leave for now. If I find out that you'd lied to me, I will find you and make you regret lying to me— even if you decide to run away from the City of Pleasure."
"I-I understand!"
The thug quickly stood up and ran away with a dark spot between his legs.
Su Yang then turned around and walked away.
However, before he could go very far, someone there asked him, "W-What about your business? It's still soaked in flammable liquid."
Su Yang glanced at the person and said, "If it burns down, I can simply move to another building. You can destroy my building, but you will not be able to destroy my business."
The business owners there were stumped by his profound words, and they even repeated it to themselves in a mumbling voice.
"You can destroy my building but you won't destroy my business? What a good sentence!"
Sometime later, Su Yang returned to the hotel, and to his surprise, both Mei Xing and Mei Ying were awake….
"Manager… Is everything okay?" Mei Ying asked him.
"Yes, everything is fine. I just had to get rid of a few annoying bugs snooping around the store."
"So the culprits who vandalized the store has returned! What happened to them?" Mei Xing asked him.
After a moment of silence, he said, "They tried to burn down the entire store, so I killed most of them."
Su Yang expected Mei Xing to express shock and disgust, but to his surprise, she said, "Good! They deserve it!"
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Mei Ying asked him in a worried voice.
"No, I am fine."
He then asked, "They also told me that someone had hired them to vandalize the store, but I don't recognize this name. Do you know of someone named Qian Fuju?"
Mei Ying's eyes widened with shock when she heard this name, and her body even subconsciously began trembling with fear.
Su Yang immediately realized her abnormal reaction to this name and said, "You know this person?"
Although she was hesitant at first, Mei Ying nodded slowly, her eyes flickering with despair.
Su Yang didn't ask her anything else, as he could already guess that they had some sort of history— an uncomfortable one at that.
However, after a moment of silence, Mei Ying spoke in a low voice, "I-I think it would be for the best if I stop associating myself with you, Manager. Please don't misunderstand my intentions. There is nothing wrong with you, but if I stay with you, I will only bring you more trouble."
"But before I leave, can you do me one last favor? Can you take Mei Xing from my hands?"
"W-What are you talking about, mother?! You can't leave us!" Mei Xing was shocked by her mother's words.
Su Yang silently stared at Mei Ying for a moment before speaking, "So the reason I am being targetted by this Qian Fuju is because of you, huh? At least the situation makes more sense now."
"Tell me more about it. If you don't want to tell me, I can go ask Qian Fuju instead."
"!!!"
Mei Ying's eyes widened when she heard his words, and she quickly responded, "You cannot! Qian Fuju is a dangerous man! If you offend him anymore, he'll do more than destroy your business! He'll kill you!"
"Kill me?" Su Yang couldn't help but chuckle at her words, and he continued in a calm voice, "Even the Heavenly Emperor cannot kill me. What can a nobody in the City of Pleasure do to me?"
Chapter 982: Qian Fuju
Under Su Yang's intensive and confident gaze, Mei Ying eventually gave up and said, "Alright, I will tell you about Qian Fuju."
She then turned to look at Mei Xing and continued, "Please give us some privacy. I don't want you to hear this."
"I understand." Mei Xing didn't complain and went straight into another room.
Once they were alone, Mei Ying took a deep breath before looking at Su Yang and speaking in a shaky voice, "Qian Fuju… He used to be one of my most frequent clients. He would come to visit me at least every day— sometimes even many times throughout one day at first. I don't want to sound arrogant saying that he was obsessed with me, but…"
"He was a little rough at first, but it wasn't anything new. However, he eventually started hitting me, and it would worsen as time went on."
"I tried to do something about it, but alas, he was a business owner within the Yellow Light District while I was only a lowly escort in the Pink Light District. Even if he killed me, nobody would help me or do anything to him."
"Even worst, he threatened to take Mei Xing away from me if I resisted against him, so I could only let him abuse me. Fortunately, he would stop coming over as often, so I only had to deal with him once a week, sometimes even a month. This lasted for many years until you freed me from that place, but by the looks of it… It appears that he wants me back…"
"I see… So he's the reason you acquired those wounds…" Su Yang mumbled in a low but calm voice.
However, deep within his heart burned a small but vicious flame. As someone who treated every single one of his partners as though they were his treasures, he despite those who treat them badly, especially those who stoop so low to hit their partners.
"I understand. You don't have to say anymore." Su Yang said to her, who was clearly trying her best to not shed any tears as she recalled her unpleasant memories with Qian Fuju.
"Go get some rest." Su Yang said a moment later.
"You won't do anything unreasonable while I sleep, right?" Mei Ying asked him in a worried voice.
"Haha… What do you think I am going to do? Waltz straight to the Yellow Light District and kill Qian Fuju? You're thinking too much. How about this? I will sleep together with you on the same bed tonight so you can tell if I slip out of the bed later?" Su Yang suggested.
Although he would've definitely done just that— kill Qian Fuju, he was not there as 'Su Yang', so he can not do something so daring without repercussions.
"Sleep on the same bed…?" Mei Ying was taken by surprise by his suggestion, but she didn't refuse.
"Okay."
Sometime later, Mei Xing returned to the room, and they all slept in the same bed.
'Wow… I am sharing the same bed with the Manager and mother… He feels even more like a father now!' Mei Xing thought to herself as she held a huge smile on her face for the rest of the night even when she was asleep.
The following morning, Su Yang and Mei Xing left the hotel and walked to the massage parlor side to side.
"What is this smell? It smells so weird, and my nose feels like it's being pricked by tiny needles every time I take a breath." Mei Xing immediately pinched her nose when she smelled this awful smell.
However, the smell wasn't foul— it was just unpleasant and very intense.
"It's a flammable liquid. I didn't bother to clean it up yesterday." Su Yang said as he summoned his alchemy flames, shocking Mei Xing.
"If it's flammable, why are you using that?!" She exclaimed with a terrified look on her face.
Su Yang chuckled and said, "Don't worry."
He then tossed his alchemy flames at his own building, immediately engulfing the entire building with fierce flame….
This shocked not only Mei Xing but the people around him, and they all wondered why he was trying to burn down his own building after what happened yesterday.
Whoosh!
The alchemy flames disappeared shortly after, and to everyone's surprise, the building remained completely unharmed.
"T-The smell is gone!" Mei Xing grew even more surprised when she realized this fact.
"Let's go inside." Su Yang spoke calmly as he approached the door.
"O-Okay!" Mei Xing quickly followed him from behind.
Once they were inside the building, business began as usual.
Their clients would ask Su Yang if everything was okay, as they'd heard about what happened yesterday from others.
"News sure travels fast in the City of Pleasure. I am fine, thank you for the concern." Su Yang chuckled.
"Good, because I'd be devastated if your business is suddenly gone." The woman said as she removed her clothes and laid on the bed.
Time passed quickly, and before they were aware, it was already the end of the day.
"Let's go home." Su Yang said to Mei Xing.
"Okay!"
They left the building shortly after.
However, they were forced to stop the second they stepped outside the building, as a group of individuals suddenly surrounded the building and blocked their path.
"Manager…"
Mei Xing immediately walked behind Su Yang for cover.
"How may I help you, gentlemen?" Su Yang asked them with a calm expression on his face.
The group of people didn't respond to his question.
A moment later, the people in the center moved out of the way to allow a handsome young man to enter the surrounded area.
The handsome young man stopped walking a few meters in front of Su Yang, and he proceeded to stare at them with a look of arrogance in his gaze.
"You're the one who stole my woman from me? I expected something more pleasant to look at, but alas, you turned out to be some toad." The handsome young man spoke in a calm voice, yet his tone was filled with disgust.
Su Yang could immediately recognize this man's identity even though this is his first time seeing this person.
"Qian Fuju, huh? You just saved me time looking for you." Su Yang said with a calm smile on his face.
Chapter 983: Red-Robed Madam
"Looking for me? You? Ahahaha!" Qian Fuju began laughing after hearing Su Yang's words.
"Well, here I am. What are you going to do to me now that you've found me? Kill me like you killed those thugs?"
Su Yang chuckled and said, "I would love to if you willingly stick your neck out for me, but even then, I am a scholar. I don't hurt people unless I am given a reason to."
"Hmph! How dare a mere massage boy speak to the Young Master in such a tone?! Are you looking to die right now?!" One of the people there exclaimed in an arrogant voice.
"Calm down. Why are you lowering yourself for a mere 'massage boy'?"
To everyone's surprise, Qian Fuju was the one who stopped his follower.
Qian Fuju returned his focus on Su Yang, and he continued, "You must think you're some hotshot because your business is doing somewhat decent. You must be very proud of your skills as a masseur. However, you're a nobody who got lucky in the Pink Light District, one of the poorest areas in the City of Pleasure. In the Yellow Light District, people like you are a dime a dozen, much less the Red Light District."
"What are you trying to imply?" Su Yang raised his eyebrows in a puzzled manner.
"That your business can disappear and nobody would give a damn. You said that one could destroy your store but not your business, right? Let's put that to the test."
Qian Fuju then looked around and said to the spectators, "Starting right now, whoever dares to visit this massage parlor will have to deal with me, Qian Fuju of the Yellow Light District!"
The spectators exchanged glances with each other. They didn't think Qian Fuju would stoop to this level. However, it wasn't uncommon within the City of Pleasure. That's why everybody minds their own business and tries their best to not offend people from the more prominent districts, as they have the ability to do something like this without any consequences.
"Y-You can't do that! We'll tell the authorities on you!" Mei Xing used all of her courage to say this sentence to Qian Fuju.
"Authorities? Hahahaha! Do you even know who I am? I am the authority! Who will dare to do anything to me for messing with some nobody in the Pink Light District?" Qian Fuju burst out laughing.
Once he had enough, Qian Fuju said, "I have had enough. I don't want to stay in this dump any longer or the dirty air will affect my health. But before I go, allow me to repeat— whoever dares to visit this massage parlor starting today will have fun with me, Qian Fuju!"
He then turned around and began walking away, and his minions followed.
"He's done. There's no way anybody would dare to visit his business now without offending Qian Fuju."
"Is Qian Fuju that powerful? He's only in the Yellow Light District, right? Not to underestimate him or anything, but they're ranked 3rd of all districts in City of Pleasure with Red Light District being first and the Cyan Light District being second."
"It's not Qian Fuju himself that people are afraid of— it's his background. Do you know who his mother is? She's known as the Red-robed Madam within the Red Light District."
"What?! Red-robed Madam is Qian Fuju's mother?! That changes everything!"
Su Yang overheard the crowds' not-so-low voices.
'Red-robed Madam?' Su Yang raised his eyebrows upon hearing this nickname….
'She's still working here? And she even got a son?'
For the first time, Su Yang actually recognized a name within the City of Pleasure.
One would expect Su Yang to be at a loss now that he realizes Qian Fuju was the son of someone he knew— and she was even a woman. However, that was further from the truth.
In fact, ever since he heard her name that was related to Qian Fuju, his desire to kill Qian Fuju grew even further.
Thousands of years ago when Su Yang arrived at the City of Pleasure to do business, he met Red-robed Madam, who was a somewhat famous courtesan, and she would try to seduce him.
However, he refused because he was there strictly for business, and he felt that he should avoid her for some reason, so he did.
And to his surprise, a few weeks after he left the City of Pleasure, Red-robed Madam tried to ruin his reputation by claiming that he had assaulted her and even beat her while he did so as revenge for not sleeping with her.
Fortunately for Su Yang, his reputation had already reached an unshakable level, so nobody really believed Red-robed Madam with some people even calling her out.
If it were not for the fact that he was busy with something else at that time, he would've returned to the City of Pleasure to kill Red-robed Madam for trying to smear his name, and by the time he was done with his business, he'd already forgotten about the incident since she was an insignificant ant back then.
"Let's go home." Su Yang said to Mei Xing.
"Okay…" She nodded.
However, when she tried to move, her legs turned into tofu, causing her to fall.
"Here." Su Yang squatted to let her climb on his back.
Mei Xing gladly accepted his carry and securely wrapped her arms around his neck.
They left the place shortly after, returning to the hotel, where they explained the situation to Mei Ying.
"To be honest with you, I'd expected worse from him…" Mei Ying released a deep sigh after listening to their story.
"But I am glad that he didn't harm either of you."
"What will happen to the store now, Manager?" Mei Xing asked him.
Su Yang pondered for a moment before speaking, "I will continue to manage it, but it might be a little too dangerous for you two, so I will manage the store alone for a while. Don't worry, I will still pay your salary even if you're not working. Consider it as a vacation of sorts."
Chapter 984: Thugs Guarding the Entrance
"Manager… I don't care about the salary… I just don't want to see you hurt, or even worse— dead…" Mei Xing said to him in a sighing voice.
Su Yang chuckled and said, "Don't worry, they can't hurt me even if they try."
The mother and daughter pair looked at each other in silence, silently wondering to themselves where he was getting his confidence from.
"Go rest. I know you're tired." Su Yang said to them before retiring inside his own room.
There was nothing Mei Ying or Mei Xing could do, so they went to sleep as advised.
The following morning, Mei Xing said to Su Yang right before he headed out, "Manager, are you sure you want to work alone? I don't mind even if it's dangerous. I won't be able to cultivate properly if I am constantly worrying about you."
Su Yang smiled at her words and said, "Have some confidence in me, won't you? When have I ever lied? If I say that I will be fine then I will be fine."
Although Mei Xing was still somewhat reluctant to leave him alone, she eventually gave up and accepted the situation.
After leaving the hotel, Su Yang made his way to the massage parlor, where two bulky men stood on beside the door to his building, seemingly guarding the place.
These two men were clearly Qian Fuju's lackeys, and they were obviously there to make sure that nobody will enter the building.
Despite seeing this, Su Yang approached the building with a calm look on his face.
The two men turned to look at him with disdain on their faces, but they didn't intervene even when Su Yang stood directly before them.
"You know, my business will suffer if I have to ugly men standing outside the building." Su Yang said to them.
The men glanced at him for a moment before ignoring him.
Su Yang shrugged and entered the building.
The pedestrians were shocked by Su Yang's boldness, and they wondered if his balls were made of steel.
How does one have the guts to do business in such a situation?
"I'm not going to lie… I didn't expect him to show up today…" One of the business owners there said to another.
"Right? If I were in his shoes, I'd have packed and left the city before sunrise."
"What does he think he can even achieve in this kind of situation? Unless he deals with Qian Fuju, nobody will dare enter his store."
"Maybe he has someone powerful backing him, hence his confidence. Did you already forget that Madam Feng from the Red Light District had advertised for him? She even personally visited his store before!"
"You're right! If it's Madam Feng, she might be able to do something about this situation!"
Meanwhile, Su Yang sat inside the massage room and proceeded to cultivate normally, not even bothering to think about the situation.
A few minutes later, one of Su Yang's unaware clients approached the massage parlor only to be stopped by the two bulky men outside.
"Halt! Qian Fuju has announced that whoever dares to enter this massage parlor will face his wrath!"…
"What? Why is Qian Fuju doing this?" The woman frowned.
"That isn't any of your concerns! Just know that the moment you enter this massage parlor is the moment you make Qian Fuju your enemy!"
The woman's frown grew deeper.
Although it'd be a great loss for her to miss this chance to experience Su Yang's renowned massage techniques, and she even waited very long for this chance, she didn't want to offend Qian Fuju, who was notorious for being a vicious person that will do anything to get rid of his enemies.
If someone offends Qian Fuju, they will essentially have to stay away from the City of Pleasure until he leaves, or they will face endless troubles.
After pondering for a moment, the woman decided that it wasn't worth offending Qian Fuju for a mere massage, so she reluctantly left.
"Good choice!" The bulky men laughed out loud, clearly loving their job.
This scene would repeat many more times throughout the day.
However, not everyone was willing to lower their head for Qian Fuju, especially those who didn't even know Qian Fuju.
After all, even though Qian Fuju was famous within the City of Pleasure, it wasn't like everybody in the Four Divine Heavens knew him.
"Qian Fuju? I don't know him! Even if I do, I don't care! I waited so long for this massage, even delaying some of my plans for it, and I am not going to miss it!" The pretty woman stood before the bulky men with a brave look on her face.
"You bitch! Don't say we didn't warn you!"
"Hmph! What are you going to do? Hit me? You don't even know my identity, so how are you going to deal with me? Get out of my way!" The woman bravely marched inside the massage parlor, shocking the spectators.
The bulky men were slightly flushed after encountering this woman, but they didn't actually do anything to stop her.
After all, their job was only to warn people to not enter Su Yang's business. Even if Qian Fuju is very influential within the City of Pleasure, there were boundaries that even he cannot cross, and one of them is unreasonably assaulting people.
After entering the building, the woman knocked on the door to the massage room, "Manager, are you here?"
"Yes, I am. You can come inside." Su Yang's voice resounded the next moment.
The woman entered the room and asked him, "Are you okay, Manager Xiao?"
"Yes, I am fine."
"What happened? Why are there thugs standing outside your building and threatening people?"
"It's a long story." Su Yang said with a bittersweet smile on his face.
"Anyways, allow me to compensate you for this inconvenience."
The woman's eyes flickered with delight, and she quickly began removing her clothes.
A few moments later, they began cultivating, and because of the situation, Su Yang decided to cultivate with the woman until the next customer arrives or when the current customer could no longer continue, which was greatly welcomed by the customer.
Chapter 985: I Won't Treat You Badly
About two hours into Su Yang's cultivation session with his client, a figure approached the massage parlor with confident and elegant steps.
The thugs standing by the door prepared to turn her away, but when they saw her face, their mouths immediately froze, and they didn't dare to speak any longer.
"What are you looking at? Are you going to threaten me if I go inside?" Feng Tianwei said to the thugs in a sneering voice.
"W-We don't dare." They quickly responded with stiff smiles on their faces.
Even with Qian Fuju backing them, neither of them dared to offend someone from the Red Light District.
"Hmph." Feng Tianwei coldly snorted before entering the massage parlor.
Seeing the closed door, she thought to herself, 'Does he actually have a client in this kind of situation?'
Feeling a little surprised, Feng Tianwei went back outside and asked the thugs, "Hey, did someone else go inside before me?"
"Y-Yes… She went inside two hours ago and hasn't come out."
"Is that so?" Feng Tianwei didn't say anything else and went back inside the building.
Of course, Su Yang was aware that he had a new visitor, so he ended the session shortly afterward, not that his client could last any longer, anyway.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and a beautiful woman with a completely flushed face staggered outside.
Feng Tianwei glanced at this woman, silently thinking to herself that Su Yang definitely treated her greatly.
Once the woman left the building, Feng Tianwei entered the massage room to find Su Yang tidying his clothes.
"I'm surprised that you still have customers," she said to him in a calm voice.
"And I am grateful to them for it," he responded in a similar calm voice.
"Anyways, why are you here? Do you want a massage, too? Since the schedule's all messed up, I can accept you now."
"You seem awfully calm despite your situation. What are you going to do now? Your business definitely won't survive at this rate, especially since Qian Fuju will only make it harder for customers to come to this place."
"I will somehow manage," he said.
After a moment of silence, Feng Tianwei said with a smile on her face, "You're definitely just acting tough and are actually fearful on the inside. If you become my personal servant, I will help you get out of this hole."
And she added, "Don't worry, I won't treat you badly."
Su Yang chuckled and said, "That doesn't sound too bad, but sorry, I don't need your help."
"Listen here, I am probably the only person in the City of Pleasure who can help you right now. Qian Fuju's mother is the Red-robed Madam, and she's just as crazy as her son. If you do anything to Qian Fuju, she will definitely come flying at you."
"However, I know Red-robed Madam quite well, and if I speak with her, she will definitely control her son so that he doesn't bother you."
Su Yang pondered for a moment before asking, "How influential is Red-robed Madam right now?"
"Huh?" Feng Tianwei didn't understand his question at first despite the seemingly simple question.
"Compared to you, how influential is she in the City of Pleasure right now?" Su Yang asked again.
"Well, she's definitely more influential than me, but not by too much. As for the whole City of Pleasure… She's probably top ten right now." Feng Tianwei said.
'Top ten, huh? She's definitely gained some more popularity since we last met…' Su Yang thought to himself….
A few thousand years ago, Red-robed Madam was only somewhat popular, probably around the top 100 within the City of Pleasure.
Of course, this also meant that it'll be much more difficult to deal with Red-robed Madam in his current state.
'Perhaps it's about time I become a little serious with this business.' Su Yang sighed.
"So you don't want my help?" Feng Tianwei narrowed her eyes at him.
"If it requires me to be your servant, then no, I don't," he calmly replied.
"Hmph! Then I wish you the best of luck because you will need it! And when it's too late, I cannot wait to see you on your knees begging me for help!"
After saying such words, Feng Tianwei turned around and walked outside.
Su Yang merely shook his head, and he proceeded to cultivate while he waited for more clients.
At the end of the day, Su Yang left the massage parlor, but he didn't go back to the hotel.
Instead, he went to the management hall where he opened the business.
He then looked around until he found the old man that helped him open the store and approached him.
"Hey." Su Yang called out to him.
"Hm? You are…" The old man quickly recognized his ordinary face.
"How may I help you, young man?"
"I'd like to change locations for my business." Su Yang said to him before taking out a couple of flawless-grade spirit stones and placing them on the table.
The first thing the old man did when he saw the spirit stone was grabbing them like a monkey stealing food before putting them in his pocket.
He then looked at Su Yang with a bright smile on his face, "Where would you like to move your business?"
"The Red Light District." Su Yang said without hesitation.
The old man didn't ask any questions and took out a map of the city.
He then looked around and said, "There are only a few available buildings in the Red Light District, but none of them are small like your preferences."
"That's fine. I will take whatever's available."
"Then here are the layouts for the available buildings. Once you find a suitable place, let me know and I will immediately transfer your business there." The old man said.
Su Yang nodded and began looking at the scrolls one by one.
He then asked, "Which of these have the most massage parlors around?"
"That would be this one." The old man pointed to one of the buildings.
"Then I will take this one," said Su Yang, taking the old man by surprise.
After all, it would make more sense if he took his business to where there are fewer massage parlors around, as that would mean less competition, so why did he pick the place with the most competition?
Chapter 986: Are You Going to Kill Us?
"Then how about this building? There are 4 other massage parlors nearby, and they are all quite popular within the Red Light District." The old man pointed to a certain building that had two floors and nine rooms.
"That's good enough. I will take this one." Su Yang nodded.
"Great. Then give me a few minutes to get your paperwork ready."
The old man proceeded to go in the back of the room for many minutes. Since this building was located within the Red Light District, it took more effort to get things ready.
About ten minutes later, the old man returned with the proper paperwork and handed them to Su Yang, alongside the keys to the building.
"If you need anything else, just let me know!" The old man said with a bright smile on his face.
"Well, I do have something to say."
"What is it?"
"The old building is a little destroyed due to some thugs if you don't mind." Su Yang told him about the damages done to the massage parlor.
"Oh? How bad are the damages?"
Su Yang then explained to him, "The walls are all scratched up, and the outside door is completely gone."
"Heavens… Who did it? I will have them responsible for the mess!" The old man said with a frown.
"Don't worry, I already took care of them."
"If you say so. As for the damages, as long as the building is still there, we can fix it up, so don't worry about it."
Normally, the store owner would have to pay for the damages done to their building, but with how much money Su Yang already gave him, the old man didn't dare to be too greedy, so he didn't hold Su Yang accountable.
Su Yang returned to the hotel shortly after and was immediately greeted by Mei Xing jumping at him.
"Manager! Where have you been this whole time?! I have been worried sick that something might have happened to you!" Mei Xing said to him in a nearly crying voice, as Su Yang had returned later than usual.
She was so worried that she nearly left the hotel to check up on him if it were not for Mei Ying, who stopped her from doing so.
"Sorry, but I had some business after work today, so I took a little detour," he said as he patted her small head to calm her.
Once she was calm, Su Yang looked at Mei Ying and said, "We're moving."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mei Ying raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner.
"I changed locations for our store— to the Red Light District," he said with a smile on his face.
"What?!"
Both Mei Ying and Mei Xing exclaimed in a shocked voice, but it was not because they changed location. It was their new location, the Red Light District.
"How did you manage to move to the Red Light District from the Pink Light District? That usually doesn't happen since only influential people are allowed to work in the Red Light District!" Mei Ying said.
"I guess you can say that I am a little influential… With my money." Su Yang chuckled.
The Mei couple was speechless upon hearing his words.
"You bribed them, Manager?" Mei Xing asked him with a surprised face.
"What? Of course not. I am a scholar. I wouldn't do such a thing. I merely paid him for his service. That's all." Su Yang said in a calm voice….
"What's going to happen to the old building?" Mei Ying then asked.
"Well, it's no longer our problem." Su Yang shrugged.
"What about this hotel? The Red Light District is at least 3 hours away from the Pink Light District…" Mei Ying then asked.
"We'll live in the new building since there are multiple rooms available," he said.
"Even though you spent so much money renting this place out?"
"It wasn't much. Don't worry about it."
Mei Ying and Mei Xing looked at each other in silence.
"Go get some rest. Things might grow a little hectic tomorrow," Su Yang suddenly said to them with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Hectic? What's going to happen tomorrow?" Mei Xing asked.
"You'll see."
Su Yang didn't say anything else and retired inside his room shortly after, leaving the two full of questions.
However, there wasn't anything they could do besides wait for tomorrow, so they went to sleep.
The following morning, Su Yang checked out of the hotel with Mei Ying and Mei Xing by his side.
"Are you sure, esteemed guest? You still have a year left in this place, and if you check out now, you won't receive your money back." The receptionist said to Su Yang.
"Yes, I am sure."
"If you don't mind me asking, did we do something wrong? If there's anything we can do to…"
"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with the hotel. We're moving out because we'll be working in another location, and it's too far from this place."
"I see. That's a relief." The receptionist said, and she continued, "If you ever decide to come back and the room hasn't been occupied by another guest yet, you may use the room without paying extra."
"Okay. Thank you."
Su Yang handed the keys to the receptionist before leaving the hotel.
"Let's stop by the massage parlor for a bit." Su Yang said to them.
"A-Are you sure?" Mei Xing asked him in a nervous voice.
"I am sure. As long as I am there, nobody will hurt you."
Sometime later, they arrived at the massage parlor, and just as expected, there were two thugs standing outside and guarding the door.
Su Yang acted as though they weren't even there and walked up to the building before retrieving his sword.
The thugs were startled for a second when Su Yang suddenly took out his weapon.
"W-What do you think you're doing?! Are you going to kill us? Go ahead! The second you injure us, Qian Fuju will go after your head!" The thugs laughed after they snapped out of their daze.
Chapter 987: Relocating
"Go ahead! Kill us if you dare!"
The thugs willingly showed their necks for Su Yang, provoking him to kill them.
The pedestrians there watched with interest, wondering to themselves whether Su Yang will kill them or not.
"Manager…"
Both Mei Xing and Mei Ying looked at him with a worried expression.
Su Yang smiled and said, "Why would I waste my time killing you idiots?"
He then swung his sword so fast that nobody there could even see where the sword went, writing a few words onto the wall of the building.
The thugs sweated profusely after realizing that Su Yang had already swung his sword, as they didn't even see his movements.
They were told that Su Yang was a scholar, yet he was showing skills that resembled a swordmaster instead!
Everybody there looked at what Su Yang wrote on the wall—
'Relocating to the Red Light District'
"What?!"
Everyone there were shocked by the words 'Red Light District'.
"Impossible! How could he possibly move his business to the Red Light District?!" The store owners were in disbelief.
As far as they were aware, only extremely popular stores that have been in the City of Pleasure for many years could possibly own a store in the Red Light District.
However, Su Yang had only been there for a few weeks! How did he manage to relocate to the Red Light District? Who did he bribe?!
Unbeknownst to these people, it had only cost Su Yang a couple of flawless-grade spirit stones to move to the Red Light District.
Of course, while 10 flawless-grade spirit stones may seem like a little, one must consider the average income in the City of Pleasure.
A single high-grade spirit stone was already worth a fortune, much less a flawless-grade spirit stone.
And if anyone had so much money to spend, they would already be working in the Red Light District, hence why it was incredibly rare for store owners to bribe their way into the Red Light District.
"Let's go." Su Yang said to Mei Ying and Mei Xing before turning around and walking towards the Red Light District.
Meanwhile, the others there watched their backs until they disappeared from the scene.
"W-We need to let the Young Master know about this!" The thugs snapped out of their daze and quickly left the place shortly after to relay the news.
"What? He moved to the Red Light District? Impossible! He's bluffing!" Qian Fuju, who was in the middle of cultivating with two women at once stopped whatever he was doing and turned to look at the closed door.
His followers had just told him the news from outside, which shocked him greatly.
There were two reasons why Qian Fuju was upset about this news….
One, Su Yang had managed to move to the Red Light District before him, who has been trying to move to the Red Light District for years now without any success.
Even though his mother is the highly successful Red-robed Madam in the Red Light District, his mother purposefully made it so that he wouldn't be able to move up the ranks easily using her fame, hence why he has been stuck in his district for so long.
The second reason why he was upset was simply because he wouldn't be able to mess with Su Yang's business since the Red Light District has much stricter rules than the others districts.
Even if his mother is the Red-robed Madam, he would suffer severe consequences if he causes trouble inside the Red Light District without any good reason. Moreover, his district was inferior to the Red Light District, so that made things even more difficult for him.
"Fuck! How did that bastard manage to enter the Red Light District?!"
Qian Fuju was no longer in the mood to cultivate, so he kicked the two women out of his room while they were still naked.
"Investigate this!" Qian Fuju then ordered his lackeys to see whether it was true or not.
Meanwhile, Su Yang and the others just entered the Red Light District.
"Wow… This place is so much cleaner… so much nicer than the Pink Light District…" Mei Xing was in a daze as they walked in the Red Light District, as it was her first time stepping inside this district.
In fact, it was a first for both the mother and the daughter.
"Manager, what about Qian Fuju? Even if we relocate, can't he just follow us and continues causing trouble? I think we should still report him." Mei Xing said to him.
Su Yang shook his head and said, "The Red Light District is different from the Pink Light District. There are actually rules in this place, so Qian Fuju will no longer be able to mess with us— at least so openly."
"He will definitely try to do something, but it won't be as obvious since he could get in trouble if he's caught."
"Really? That's great news!" Mei Ying said in a cheerful manner.
Su Yang nodded, and he said, "Let's stop by the storage before we check out our new building."
"The storage? What's that?" Mei Xing asked.
"It's a place in the Red Light District where you can store almost anything, and they will keep it safe for you until you decide to retrieve it," he said.
About an hour later, they arrived before a massive building that was also heavily guarded with powerful cultivators surrounding the building.
"There's a place like that in the City of Pleasure? I never knew that." Mei Ying said as she stared at the scene in awe.
Su Yang ignored the guards and walked straight inside the building without any problems.
Once they were inside, they walked to the receptionist, and Su Yang said to the woman working there, "I'd like to retrieve something."
"Most certainly. What are the storage number and the password for it?" The receptionist asked him in return.
She also handed him a piece of paper and something to write on it.
Su Yang began writing something on the paper before handing it back to her.
"Thank you. Please give me a few minutes to verify this information." The receptionist said to him before disappearing from the scene.