Jiang Baihu's face changed slightly.
She knew Liu Qi, and even once felt pity for him.
She commented him as a raw gem. If he focused all his energy on cultivation, he might have had a chance to reach the realm of Virtual God in the future...
But now.
What need was there for a future? He had already reached the realm of Virtual God.
What puzzled her was...
For a Virtual God-level expert, there was nowhere they couldn't go in the world. Why bother getting involved with Chen Zhi'an, this little guy who ran a brothel?
She didn't understand.
Liu Qi wanted to change the tragic situation of the women in the brothels, to set rules for the industry, to prioritize this brothel over everything else.
Not to mention the two swordsmen, even Jiang Baihuo herself, if it weren't for Chen Zhi'an's gesture, he would have considered killing them directly.
When a scholar gets ruthless, they can be much more ruthless than vulgar martial artists.
Didn't he see that the two Virtual God-level experts were just hiding upstairs to spy on them? He even figured out where they were buried?
Glancing deeply at Liu Qi.
Jiang Baihuo exhaled and said, "Zhi'an, believe it or not, I'm not here to cause trouble today. On the contrary, I want to invest in the brothel... thirty thousand taels of silver, for a ten percent share!"
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
Chen Zhi'an got up and left. "Maybe I would have considered it before they made a move. But now they have."
...
"Before those two swordsmen made their move, would you have agreed?"
After leaving the Clear Music Pavilion, Liu Qi couldn't help but ask.
He hoped the brothel would remain pure. If there were too many voices, he couldn't guarantee that the current system would be executed perfectly.
Merchants value profit.
Not everyone is like Chen Zhi'an, who doesn't care about anything.
"Of course not."
Chen Zhi'an smiled. "I even want to return Li Cheng'an's money. How could I agree to let her join? It's just planting a thorn in her heart.
It seems that the Jiang family of Langya is not invulnerable. Those two swordsmen showing killing intent toward me must have been instructed by someone.
I wonder if it's from the Sword Sect or the Jiang family of Langya.
Or both?
Doesn't matter.
This matter should be handled by my second brother himself.
Damn it.
"Just because the family of the Son of Destiny can't do it, I'm hiding outside running a brothel, and they still want to target me..."
The two of them went up to the seventh floor.
The seventh to twelfth floors were the gambling halls.
Mahjong, Pai Gow, poker, you name it. The dealers were experts hired by Liu Qi from various gambling dens and trained for over a month. Their skills were impeccable.
Bullying those novices was child's play.
Maids in short skirts shuttled between tables, offering fruits and snacks to the high rollers. Their service attitude was unmatched by any other gambling den.
The manager of the gambling hall was Chen Zheng.
He was self-taught and had secretly bribed a large number of servants from aristocratic families, giving them a cut and getting them to bring their masters over to play cards.
At this moment, the seventh floor was almost full of guests.
Chen Zhi'an even saw Yang Xianxian in the crowd.
He was excited, sitting in a wheelchair and almost standing up after throwing down a bomb.
Chen Zhi'an remembered the lingerie in the storage ring that hadn't been given out yet, so he called Chen Zheng to keep an eye on Yang Xianxian.
If this guy won money, he would take him to the Golden Pavillion...
Not causing trouble for him was already considering his disability, how could he let him leave the brothel with money?
After inspecting the gambling hall.
Chen Zhi'an and Liu Qi took the cable car to the Examination Tower.
Those two Virtual God-level experts didn't know what they were waiting for, actually not making a move in the Golden Pavillion.
The first three floors of the Examination Tower were theaters and storytellers.
At this moment, the theater was performing a drama about the adventures of the Four Princes of Chang'an, who traveled far with their swords and killed three hundred bandits.
The actors were all martial artists, although they hadn't reached the innate realm.
But they were adept at flying over rooftops and walls. With the accompaniment of the ambush-themed pipa music, the plot was dramatic and thrilling, with hidden killing intent.
The audience, who had never seen such a spectacle before, watched with rapt attention, eagerly reaching into their pockets to tip generously.
Inside the elegant chamber.
Although the Four Gentlemen of Chang'an were sipping wine, their minds were fully immersed in the drama unfolding before them. After all, what young and adventurous martial artist wouldn't want their story to be sung by all?
For Chen Zhi'an, this performance was more satisfying than a thousand praises directed at him. Even Li Chengxian, who had previously looked down on Chen Zhi'an, now regarded him with newfound respect.
He realized that the reckless playboy, who had frivolously pursued his friend, had some merit after all.
Chen Zhi'an didn't bother the Four Gentlemen.
He continued ascending the tower.
He was like an old farmer in the harvest season, enthusiastically reaping golden wheat.
The fourth floor featured singing and dancing.
As the melodious tune of "Water Tune Song Head" echoed through the hall, the scholars who had come with critical minds were completely won over!
This was not just any ditty!
It was a masterpiece worthy of eternal praise in the literary world!
Su Xuner, the courtesan who sang the "Water Tune Song Head," immediately received numerous invitations as soon as she left the stage.
In the midst of such brilliance.
Even the self-proclaimed romantic scholars dared not compose poetry anymore.
They hurriedly dispatched people to invite the true literary giants of the scholarly world in Chang'an.
Under the pressure of a courtesan, they had to reclaim their dignity.
At that moment.
Many renowned scholars of Chang'an flooded into the examination tower, only to continue being tempted by the performers...
Chen Zhi'an stood on the tower, watching as each dashing scholar scratched their heads in frustration. He couldn't be happier.
Su's poetry, let alone theirs.
Throughout history, spanning five thousand years, dare anyone say there's no one who can surpass him?
Moving on.
There were quaint and elegant chambers one after another.
Chen Zhi'an didn't disturb them.
He simply called for Chen Yi and instructed him to pay close attention to the movements of the young ladies. Anyone who dared to use force.
Just beat them up.
...
As Chen Zhi'an was reaping his harvest.
In the Prince's Mansion of Chang'an, Zhu Wuchang was also awaiting his own harvest.
"When will the bright moon appear, ask the wine to the blue sky..."
With a gentle sway of his fan, Zhu Wuchang chuckled, "I must say, although that young marquis may seem like a fool, he's managed to open quite a decent brothel!
To think he'd find such a talented woman there!
With this poem coming into existence, even Su Xuner would be remembered for eternity!"
"Poetry is but a trivial matter!"
A man with a hideous face sitting across from him sneered, "Without strength, everything is in vain.
Our Great Tang thrives on martial prowess, safeguarding our borders are the strong warriors, not those scholars who dabble in poetry!"
"Chaos is imminent, with the Northern King eyeing our Great Tang, and the Western Kingdom openly proselytizing among our people, the entire Western Regions, we don't even know if they still belong to our Great Tang.
Even the Southern Witches are causing trouble.
Enemies on all sides.
Not to mention the Ancient Forbidden Clan in the Forbidden Zone will inevitably return.
Yet the courtiers seem oblivious, indulging in literary pursuits day and night.
Brother Wuchang...
Do you think there's any hope left in this world?"
Zhu Wuchang was speechless.
His good friend was cynical about everything. Although the Great Tang had only been established for a few hundred years, solving these external threats was far from easy.
Unless a sage appeared, it was just wishful thinking to try to dominate other countries.
As for the Forbidden Zone, that was even more absurd.
Thousands of years ago, the Ancient Emperor was astonishingly talented, suppressing all the contemporaries and compelling the Imperial Clan of the Forbidden Zone to self-seal. But even he couldn't completely eradicate them.
Now that the Human Clan's Great Wall was unmanned, how could people like them, who didn't even hold official positions, manage so much!
Focus on the present.
Quietly lifting the teacup, Zhu Wuchang took a sip of tea, got up, and looked towards the direction of the Yueya Lake, waiting for the collapse of the tower...