Chapter 152 - 118: "You are the first person to kill my father.
"You hear me?"
"Understood!"
Lame Monkey acknowledged the order with a serious expression, a sense of urgency rising within him.
"Let’s go. First, we’ll pick up Zhou Mo and the others, then go buy what we need."
...
「Outside Jiangbei City.」
Having fled the city, a panting Qi Feng and his group looked back toward the sky over Jiangbei City. The scarlet pillar of light was gone.
"The array... it didn’t form?"
Qi Feng collapsed onto the ground, panting, his eyes filled with lingering fear and terror. "The world outside is just too dangerous. How can a single family like the Jiangbei Chen Family deploy such a Grand Array?"
Beside him, Elder Xu was also trembling uncontrollably.
He knew with chilling certainty that if the array had fully formed, his entire party would have been annihilated.
In stark contrast to them were the cheering commoners nearby.
The Grand Array hadn’t formed.
There were no casualties.
These commoners didn’t know what was happening. They just thought it was a beautiful sight, like watching a spectacular fireworks show.
"How did Chen Fan manage to stop the array?"
"He couldn’t have."
The youth from the One Sword Sect, a heavy ruler strapped to his back, strode over and shook his head. "Once a Grand Array like this is activated, it’s impossible to stop unless you’re an expert in arrays. Chen Fan must have damaged the Grand Array’s Patterns beforehand."
"He knew about this array all along?"
"Possibly."
"Fuck—"
Qi Feng cursed as he scrambled up from the ground, still panting. "Those two are terrifying. Is this really a Jiangbei faction? It feels like each one is more ruthless than the last."
"Let’s go. Back to the city!"
...
「Time passed.」
The walls around the Jiangbei Chen Family’s old estate continued to crumble. Anyone who attempted to escape had their legs pierced by the Jiangbei Old Demon’s Sword Qi, pinning them to the ground, unable to move.
Among them were...
a glamorous woman, a man in white, and a rather grimy-looking beggar.
"Shao Qiu!"
The glamorous woman, pinned to the ground, glared angrily at the man in white. "You claim to be the best at stealth, don’t you? So how did you fail to break us out?"
"Have you ever seen anyone who’s good at stealth in broad daylight?"
The man in white was equally furious. "I told you already to watch out for Patriarch Chen! But you just had to insist you ’had it all under control.’ Under control my ass!"
"Stealth?"
The Jiangbei Old Demon crouched curiously in front of Shao Qiu, prodding the man’s head with his longsword. "Stealth... in white robes? You’re quite the poser, aren’t you."
"Go on, do some sneaking for me. I want to see how you do it."
"I have no complaints about losing to you."
Pinned to the ground by Sword Qi, Shao Qiu glanced at the surrounding Chen Family Members, all similarly pinned. He looked up at the Jiangbei Old Demon and said slowly, word by word, "Your Sword Qi is solid. It lingers without dissipating."
"That’s the sign of someone about to become a Martial King."
"To think Jiangbei has someone of your caliber. Given time, you could even take on a Ghost King by yourself."
"Mm."
The Jiangbei Old Demon nodded, looking pleased. "Now that’s what I like to hear. Say more."
"You have excellent taste. That azure robe is very stylish."
"My thoughts exactly. Anymore?"
"You’re more handsome than I am."
"Naturally."
"So, can you let me go?"
"What do you think?"
...
「Jiangbei City, Osmanthus Tower.」
This was Jiangbei City’s largest and most famous brothel. Wang Mazi was finally making good on his promise from the rainy season, treating everyone to a wild time at Osmanthus Tower. However, Wang Mazi wasn’t the one footing the bill.
Chen Fan was paying for everyone.
Also—
Wang Mazi looked rather awkward, as if a little embarrassed.
"Come on, handsome~"
The group arrived at a private room on the top floor of Osmanthus Tower. The Madam led in a bevy of girls dressed in sheer gauze. One of them, a girl in a red dress, sat down beside Wang Mazi with a flirtatious smile. Her body seemed boneless as she melted into his arms and boldly gave him a kiss.
...
Sitting in the center, Chen Fan felt the corner of his mouth twitch at the sight. ’These women of the brothel are certainly dedicated to their craft.’
’Not just anyone could bring themselves to kiss a face that pockmarked.’
He got a girl for Lame Monkey and the others as well.
Big Fish declined, sitting quietly in a corner.
Big Fish was always like that—utterly inconspicuous in a crowd, working silently and never speaking up.
As for Chen Fan...
He looked down at the Ghost Stone Fragments in his hand, lost in thought.
’Being a station chief is a high-risk, high-reward job, with a monthly salary of ten Ghost Stones.’
’An attendant’s monthly salary is around three Ghost Stones.’
’For daily expenses, Ghost Stones obviously couldn’t serve as the basic currency.’
’The basic currency is these Ghost Stone Fragments. At a Life Workshop, one Ghost Stone can be broken down into 100 fragments. They can be used just like regular Ghost Stones; for instance, it takes 300 Ghost Stone Fragments to create one Ghost Fire.’
’And these Ghost Stone Fragments are the basic currency.’
’The price for one of the brothel’s women: 80 Ghost Stone Fragments.’
’The ones he’d chosen for Lame Monkey and the others were high quality.’
’Naturally, they cost a bit more.’
Just then—
The door to the private room was pushed open.
Patriarch Wang entered alone, standing before Chen Fan with a respectful yet apprehensive expression. "Domain Lord, I’ve brought the men back. The dismissed station chiefs and the others are all here."
...
Chen Fan glanced up at the group standing outside the private room, some forty or fifty people in all, and asked casually, "Are you willing to join the Mortal Realm?"
"We are, we are!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
The group outside, as if terrified Chen Fan would change his mind, began nodding their heads like chickens pecking at grain.
"Wait outside."
"And you, my lord." The Madam swayed over to Chen Fan, covering her mouth with a hand as she asked with a coquettish laugh, "Aren’t you going to have some fun?"
"You can wait outside as well."
...
「One hour later.」
Chen Fan led Lame Monkey and the others out of Osmanthus Tower. The faces of Lame Monkey and his men were aglow with satisfaction. Chen Fan glanced at Patriarch Wang, who was standing guard outside, then led the large procession toward the Jiangbei Chen Family estate.