Liyun Tower's top courtesan was indeed the top courtesan; the moment she officially appeared, she captivated everyone's attention. The crowd below the steps all turned to look at the woman gracefully descending, truly a stunning beauty with a myriad of charms, even if her injuries made her appear a bit disheveled.
Wu Jinliang secretly clicked his tongue, no wonder she was so expensive.
Shi Chun also thought she was quite beautiful, but his mind was busy calculating how to offload the goods.
Bian Weikang, however, watched with eyes that seemed to tear, turning to Feng Chi and shaking his fist in grief and indignation, “Did you hit her?”
Feng Chi calmly fanned herself with a handkerchief and said, “She wouldn’t listen to reason, insisting on staying with you. I was only doing it for her own good.
But now that everything is in the past, if Young Master Bian feels that her injuries make her less than perfect, you don’t have to take her; your money can be refunded.”
“You…” Bian Weikang trembled with rage but was helpless.
He turned, pushed aside the people in his way, and rushed to embrace Xiang Lan’er, weeping tears of joy.
The verification of the five hundred thousand Wood Gold was still ongoing; after all, it wasn’t a small sum.
This was the trouble with using hard currency. Originally, it wasn't so cumbersome; gold notes of equivalent face value were used for transactions.
However, the demonic sects repeatedly tampered with them, and later even pulled a severe stunt, extensively forging identical notes, causing great chaos in the cultivation world. Until a method to prevent it was found, they reverted to hard currency transactions.
Of course, large sums could also be handled by relevant banks, but that was clearly not being done in this situation.
Fortunately, the lavish Liyun Tower had its own verification tools, specialized magical artifacts shaped like funnels, which made verification quick.
Bian Weikang, who had already explained the situation, brought Xiang Lan’er over to Shi Chun.
Having been in the thick of things for so long, Shi Chun had a delicate sensitivity to unusual reactions.
He vaguely felt that while Xiang Lan’er expressed her gratitude, her gaze scrutinized him with considerable interest, which made him feel subtly uneasy.
However, seeing his own tattered appearance, he immediately felt relieved.
Once the Wood Gold was counted and the amount confirmed correct, Shi Chun immediately extended his hand to Feng Chi, “Where is Miss Xiang’s deed of sale?”
If she refused to give it to him, insisting on giving it to Xiang Lan’er or Bian Weikang, then he would bring up the matter of the fifty thousand gold he lent them. Would they perhaps be willing to collateralize the deed of sale with him first?
In any case, he absolutely had to get his hands on that document; he couldn’t let his five hundred thousand gold go to waste.
Fortunately, the reputation of Far-Gazing Tower was solid enough. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, with people from Far-Gazing Tower present, Feng Chi didn’t think too much of it.
She reached into her sleeve and produced the deed of sale she had prepared long ago.
Shi Chun snatched it, didn’t even glance at it, and asked Bian Weikang, “Do you have a place to stay?”
He wasn't worried at all about the deed of sale being fake.
Similarly, under the public gaze, it wouldn’t be fake; with countless witnesses, a fake one would be useless.
Bian Weikang, still emotional, didn’t think about anything else and nodded repeatedly, “Yes, I do.”
Shi Chun said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you two over first.”
Bian Weikang nodded his thanks profusely.
The group turned to leave, but Feng Chi called out, “Lan’er, are you just leaving like this? Your mother has treated you well these past years, haven’t I? You won’t resent me, will you?”
Xiang Lan’er paused and turned, bowing slightly. Without a word, she gave Feng Chi an understanding glance, then resolutely followed Bian Weikang, seemingly with no lingering attachment to the place.
Bian Weikang was quite caring towards her. Unwilling for her to be stared at by a crowd like a monkey, he took off his jacket and draped it over her head.
As they pushed through the crowd, Shi Chun took advantage of the chaos to slip the deed of sale into Wu Jinliang’s hand.
Wu Jinliang smoothly tucked it away, their seamless cooperation going unnoticed.
This was clearly not the first time they had done something like this; they were very experienced.
After they emerged from the curious onlookers, he spoke up, “Chuntian, these shabby clothes are too conspicuous.
I’m going to buy some new ones. You two can tell me where you’ll be, and I’ll find you later.”
Bian Weikang quickly pointed in a direction and said, “The ‘Wuyou Inn’ over there. Just mention my name when you go, and you’ll find it.”
“Alrighty.” Wu Jinliang chuckled and pulled Old Dong’s arm, dragging him along.
“You’re familiar with this area, lead the way.”
Big Stone was feeling that something wasn’t right, when another hand patted his shoulder.
It was Chasi, who pulled him aside to ask some questions.
He didn't ask anything else, just what was going on.
Big Stone didn't really know what was going on. He was indeed at Far-Gazing Tower here, but as a newcomer, he had many things to learn and hadn't yet paid attention to matters of romance and pleasure.
Later, the two simply stopped a passerby who was leaving after watching the commotion. After learning what had happened, Chasi's face turned green again; given Bian Weikang’s situation, he felt that the forty thousand gold was probably lost.
Feeling incredibly annoyed, he deeply regretted not having clarified the situation and messing up Miss Miao's instructions. But the problem was, who would have known that fellow would pull such a bizarre stunt? Now, it was unlikely that Liyun Tower would spit the money back out.
He lost interest in following them further and immediately returned, needing to inform Miss Miao of the situation quickly so she could decide what to do.
Big Stone was also very surprised.
How could their Chief be so confident that Bian Weikang could repay double the money?
He secretly rejoiced that he hadn't taken the risk, yet also felt strange. Their Chief was not the type to throw so much money without understanding the situation.
As the onlookers dispersed, the madam Feng Chi remained standing on the steps for a long time, not going inside. It was midday, and there were few customers.
She watched the departing figures until they were out of sight.
Although the situation had taken an unexpected turn, and the tragic play intended to ensnare Bian Weikang was thwarted before it even began, the overall direction remained unchanged.
She waved her hand, and a pock-marked, expressionless waiter came to her side. She whispered, “Investigate them, find out their background.”
Without a word, the waiter left.
As for his own background, Shi Chun didn't hide much during their casual conversation along the way.
When Bian Weikang and Xiang Lan'er asked, he told them he had just been released from the Land of Exile.
It wasn't that he wanted to be honest, but he knew it couldn't be kept secret.
Wukang Mountain would probably not easily accept someone with an unclear background.
The two surprised lovers subconsciously looked back at Big Stone, who was following behind them, their confusion evident.
When did people from the Land of Exile become so high-class, even traveling with people from Far-Gazing Tower?
Bian Weikang was slightly better; after all, he had witnessed Shi Chun’s wild behavior earlier, either yelling about beating people to death or about smashing Liyun Tower.
Xiang Lan’er, however, found it hard to believe.
Could this seemingly amiable and refined person actually come from such a crude place?
Shi Chun noticed their doubts and explained, “Didn’t you see how dark he is too? He just got out a month or so earlier than us. We used to scrounge for food together.
He got lucky and joined Far-Gazing Tower. When he heard we were out, he came to catch up.”
The two lovers then half-believed, half-doubted him, but still wondered. Could someone from the Land of Exile truly have such a grand and extravagant air? Perhaps what they had heard before wasn’t to be taken seriously, as they hadn't truly interacted with anyone from there.
Wuyou Inn was a good place, an inn built into a cliff face, and a relatively high-class one at that, offering excellent views of the grand canyon. Bian Weikang usually stayed here.
In Feng Chi’s words, he was supported by Xiang Lan’er.
As they ascended the winding stone steps, just as the group reached the entrance of Wuyou Inn, the swift-moving Wu Jinliang dashed up, with Old Dong trailing behind him.
At this moment, Wu Jinliang seemed like a completely different person, having bought a set of snow-white clothes. They suited his thick eyebrows and large eyes, and the contrast with his dark skin was rather striking, especially as he was still carrying a large black saber.
Yet, Wu Jinliang himself was happily grinning and asked everyone, “How did I do picking out these clothes?”
“Not bad, not bad, brother, you have excellent taste.” Bian Weikang complimented him sincerely, then couldn’t help but exchange a look with Xiang Lan’er.
With such aesthetics, the two believed he was indeed a brave man from the Land of Exile.
“How about it, how about it, how are the clothes?” Wu Jinliang circled Shi Chun again, and while avoiding others’ gazes, he slipped a folded piece of paper into Shi Chun’s tattered clothes.
He only bought one piece. Wasn’t he in a hurry? Plus, he didn’t know Shi Chun’s clothing size; in the Land of Exile, he really hadn’t paid attention to clothing sizes.
“The clothes are good, the person not so much.” Shi Chun casually remarked.
After that, it was a matter of finishing what they started—seeing them all the way home.
Upon entering Wuyou Inn and reaching the door of Bian Weikang’s guest room, Shi Chun stopped, refusing to go inside.
He pointed to his own body and self-deprecatingly said, “We’re dirty, so we won’t go in.”
“Not dirty at all, not dirty at all,” Bian Weikang hastily insisted, quickly inviting him in, “Senior Brother…”
Each time he reached this point in the address, he would pause, still a bit unaccustomed.
He found this fellow’s surname to be truly unique; anyone being polite would be taken advantage of.
Shi Chun seriously raised a hand to stop him.
“Just stopping by to show our faces is enough. We won’t disturb your affection.
We still have friends to visit. See you later.
Oh…” He said, as if remembering something, and pulled out the deed of sale from his person.
He opened it on the spot, ignoring the fresh ink and numerous vivid red fingerprints, and directly read the contents.
It stated that for his father’s treatment, he borrowed a certain amount of money and sold himself for thirty years. As long as it wasn't a matter of life or limb, he had to obey within the thirty-year term, and could even be resold, and so on.
He couldn't help but look at Xiang Lan’er, “So you sold yourself to Liyun Tower to treat your father’s illness!”
Xiang Lan’er nodded sadly.
Shi Chun then looked at the deed of sale and said, “Thirty years, it seems there’s still about ten years left…” He then dramatically tore the deed of sale to shreds, crumpled it into a ball, didn’t even show it to them, and directly used magic to pulverize it into dust.
He threw it away, clapped his hands, “There, Miss Xiang, from now on, you are free.”
Old Dong at the side watched, his mouth twitching.
He had personally witnessed Wu Jinliang forging the deed of sale, and it was the kind of fake that couldn’t be more fake. It had Wu Jinliang’s own shoddy handwriting and his own fingerprints.
Such rampant forgery was probably something people outside the Living Prison couldn’t pull off so crudely.
If the torn deed of sale were real, he’d poke his own eyes out.
Based on his understanding of these two, they were clearly up to something.
He thought and thought, and only one possibility emerged: they were feigning generosity, and once the other party couldn't repay the money, they would use the deed of sale to threaten them.