At the top floor of the Golden Pavillion,
Li Cheng'an lounged in a rocking chair, watching as the Four Gentlemen of Chang'an descended towards the Golden Pavilion. A sly smile played on his lips.
"Zhi'an, you're truly talented. Inviting the Four Gentlemen of Chang'an was expected, but bringing in them as well. Now the reputation of the brothel is firmly established in Cháng'ān."
"The Four Gentlemen of Chang'an were my doing, but not Jiang Baihu. She..." Chen Zhi'an furrowed his brow.
Jiang Baihu had previously flirted with the former owner and sent his eldest brother to Drunk Guest Pavilion to abduct someone, creating enmity.
"She might not have come for a good reason."
"Li, why don't you keep an eye on Jiang Baihu?" Chen Zhi'an suggested. "I'll watch over the Four Gentlemen of Chang'an to ensure Li Chengxian doesn't cause trouble."
"No," Li Cheng'an refused without hesitation, fearing he might lose control and act impulsively.
"Then I'll see the Four Gentlemen of Chang'an and you handle Jiang Baihu," Chen Zhi'an proposed. "After all, you're the co-owner of the brothel; you can't just sit back and do nothing."
"Damn it, Zhi'an, why do I feel like I'm being manipulated by you?" Li Cheng'an glared at Chen Zhi'an, but still got up and headed towards the island where the official ceremonies were taking place.
By now, many guests had arrived on the island, each dressed in luxurious attire. While many could afford the five taels of silver, those who could afford to purchase a spot on the island were certainly not paupers.
Among the crowd, Chen Zhi'an even spotted Wang Fùguì, the Prefect of Cháng'ān Prefecture, though he was in disguise.
It seemed they had come for the Four Gentlemen of Chang'an.
Additionally, there were others who seemed familiar to him, likely scions of prominent families.
Walking through the crowd, those who recognized him bowed and greeted him respectfully. He reciprocated politely, acknowledging that they were all equals in this setting, where everyone was as valuable as gold.
Just as he was briefing Chen Zhi'an on matters, Liu Qi, who was giving instructions to the Chen brothers, spotted him and immediately approached, whispering, "I was just about to find you. Yang Lao said there are some suspicious characters on the island, and the stewards have been dispatched to apprehend them. I suspect they're targeting you."
"Are they the brothel owners?" Chen Zhi'an wondered. "Those guys can hire experts in the Exquisite Qi Realm, but with Yang Lao's capabilities, should we really be worried?"
Yang Lao was the master artisan Chen Ah Man had brought from Chenliu County, and after the Treasure Pavilion was completed, he and his team of twenty artisans remained.
According to Yang Lao, they were all experts in the Qi Refinement Realm back in the day, with Yang Lao himself being in the Exquisite Qi Realm. Although their vitality had waned over the years, they could still handle ordinary practitioners.
They formed teams of ten and could even challenge those in the Exquisite Qi Realm when in formation.
Originally, Chen Zhi'an had planned to send them back home after the Treasure Pavilion was completed.
However, Yang Lao pleaded with Chen Zhi'an to let them stay, claiming they were destitute in Chenliu County and struggled to afford meals every day.
Chen Zhi'an attributed their plight to Chen Ah Man's incompetence, so he agreed to let them stay and appointed them as stewards of the brothel.
"You're overestimating those brothel owners," Chen Zhi'an said with a complex expression. "They hired three practitioners in the Qi Refinement Realm and one in the Exquisite Qi Realm, intending to set fire to the place, but they've already been dealt with."
Recalling the scene where a limping steward casually snapped the necks of the four cultivators, Liu Qi still found it absurd.
To let twenty Exquisite Qi Realm experts and one Virtual God Realm expert lurk in the brothel as enforcers was something only Chen Zhi'an could pull off...
After a long silence, Liu Qi spoke slowly, "On the top floor of the Golden Pavilion, there are two Virtual God Realm experts with suppressed killing intent. They're definitely not ordinary guests. We'll find an opportunity to deal with them later."
"Virtual Gods?" Chen Zhi'an's heart trembled. The Virtual God Realm was a formidable existence capable of projecting their spirits over long distances.
Many sects only had one Virtual God as their leader.
Liu Qi claimed that two Virtual God bosses were secretly targeting him?
"Do you have confidence?"
Chen Zhi'an stepped back calmly, hiding behind Liu Qi as he whispered.
Liu Qi smiled faintly. "Initially, no. But now, yes."
As they walked, they soon arrived at the sixth floor of the Golden Pavilion.
The first three floors of the pavilion were the main hall, while the back three floors were private rooms.
Given Jiang Baihu's status, she naturally wouldn't mingle with ordinary people in the main hall. Instead, she had reserved the most luxurious Clear Music Pavilion.
"Is Sister Jiang still eating?"
When Chen Zhi'an knocked on the door and entered, Jiang Baihu was picking up a silverfish and putting it in her mouth.
Zhu Luer, the top-ranked courtesan on the brothel's Rouge List, was lifting ice cubes to help her cool down her wine.
"Zhu Luer, aged eighteen, is the legitimate daughter of the former Chief Imperial Censor, Zhu Zhi. Zhu Zhi was imprisoned and exiled three thousand miles away for accusing the regent prince of suppressing dissent and indiscriminate killings. She and her younger brother, Zhu Anlu, were degraded to common status and consigned to the Education District. They were later bought back by Liu Qi."
In terms of appearance, she couldn't compare to Li Lanqing, but she exuded an air of scholarly elegance. She gained fame in Cháng'ān with her poem "Nian An Nu" and was known as a talented woman.
Chen Zhi'an defied public opinion and was elevated to the top position on the Rouge List.
For some reason, she didn't make an appearance at the Imperial Examination Tower but instead showed up at the Golden Pavilion to accompany Jiang Baihu for a drink.
Seeing Chen Zhi'an and Liu Qi enter, Zhu Luer stood up with the wine jug and bowed respectfully.
She was genuinely grateful to these two bosses. When she was in the brothel district, she was about to be assigned to serve clients, and even her younger brother Zhu Anlu was about to be sent to the palace. Just when she felt hopeless, Mr. Liu bought her and offered an unbelievably generous contract. He also took her younger brother Zhu Anlu as a disciple, setting him on the path of cultivation.
Although they both experienced the hardships of life, the treatment in the brothel and in the brothel district were worlds apart.
So, when Jiang Baihu suggested meeting the top courtesan on the Rouge List, she immediately stepped forward without hesitation.
"Luer is booked by Sister today. Zhi'an, do you mind?"
Jiang Baihu, eating hotpot carelessly and taking a sip of chilled yellow wine, smiled.
"How could I have any objections? As long as Luer doesn't mind, I'm fine with it." Chen Zhi'an smiled. "Sister Jiang, are you satisfied with the hotpot at the Golden Pavilion?"
"Sigh!" Jiang Baihu put down her long chopsticks, and her lazy eyes gradually turned cold. "Zhi'an, you should focus on running the brothel. Why bother with running a tavern and a gambling den? Cutting off someone's source of income is like killing their parents. You're pushing Sister into a dead end!"
Chen Zhi'an picked up a chair and sat down, his smile fading. "Sister Jiang, everyone in the business world is doing it. If you can run a tavern and a gambling den, why can't I? It's too domineering of you to forbid me from doing it just because you do it."
"How dare you!" Two swordsmen behind Jiang Baihu stepped forward simultaneously, their long swords vibrating with a buzzing sound on their backs.
Sharp sword qi surged towards Chen Zhi'an.
Just as the sword qi was about to descend, Jiang Baihu's stern voice rang out, "How insolent! Step back!"
At the same time, she shifted her position and appeared in front of Chen Zhi'an in an instant, her slender fingers pinching the tips of the two swords.
"Sister Jiang, is this your intention?" Chen Zhi'an's smile also turned cold.
Jiang Baihu looked coldly at the two swordsmen behind her. "Do you need to explain yourselves?"
"Miss!" The two swordsmen said coldly. "Chen Zhi'an disrespected you and deserves punishment!"
"Insolence! Who gave you the authority to act arbitrarily?" Jiang Baihu raised an eyebrow, her killing intent rising.
She had said earlier to retreat when she saw the people from the Chenliu Marquis's Mansion. Her previous words about cutting off someone's source of income were just setting up a pretext for investing in the brothel.
But her subordinates acted without her orders...
"It seems it wasn't Sister Jiang's intention?"
As Jiang Baihu analyzed the loyalty of her swordsmen in her heart, Chen Zhi'an suddenly spoke.
"Since it wasn't Sister Jiang's intention, keeping such disloyal elements is a menace... We might as well... kill them!"
As Chen Zhi'an's words fell, Liu Qi, who was standing behind him, stepped forward.
When he reappeared, he was already behind the two swordsmen, his palm seizing their necks and gently twisting!
"Click!"
The necks of the two swordsmen were twisted.
Dead!