Cao Bei was sitting at a luxurious table surrounded by two beautiful women. Qiao Lanhua and Su Yanyan were barely clothed. Moreover, they loved to caress and massage the young man who fancied himself a poet. Honestly, his poems were good when the sun was still up. But by now, it was very hard to even make out all the syllables. In front of Cao Bei were a few empty vine gourds. His cup was never empty as the women kept on filling it up. In a single night, he had probably spent ten taels of gold on liquor alone. Unfortunately, the night wasn't over yet.
On the table in front of Cao Bei, half a dozen people were betting on dice. They were around the table while a woman was standing alone on one side with a small wooden box. Cao Bei and the other gamblers put strings of coins and Heidai Coins on characters and numbers engraved in the table.
Pushed by the two women laughing at every word, Cao Bei pushed two Yuanbao, the equivalent of a hundred taels of gold, onto one single number. Then, the box opened, revealing three dice. Suddenly, everyone erupted in cheers. Qiao Lanhua and Su Yanyan pressed their bodies against Cao Bei. Under the effect of the wine, it took him a moment to even feel their bosoms against his arms, and a bit longer to understand that he had won. Full of joy, he took his cup and raised his fist.
"The most precious wine for everyone!"
When Cao Bei won, everyone won. As a matter of fact, even the Gilded Cicada Pavilion won. Indeed, he drank much more than he earned. Besides, he wouldn't win all the time. From the upper floor, the owner Jiang Zhenlu was very pleased with his customer. This was the first time Cao Bei had visited this small establishment, and Jiang Zhenlu planned to make it worthwhile.
As the night progressed, Cao Bei didn't even know what he was gambling. Although he had started the night with fifty Yuanbao on him, he only had three left. Besides, he had won and lost many more Yuanbao during the entire night. However, at some point, he grew tired of the gambling because the women had done too good of a job. As such, he paid for a room and went with Qiao Lanhua and Su Yanyan. To be more accurate, Qiao Lanhua and Su Yanyan brought him to a room as Cao Bei could barely walk at this point. He was unsteady on his feet, but, to their surprise, he was still very talented in bed.
Even after the sun had risen again, Cao Bei stayed very active with the two young ladies. After several hours, the women were more tired than Cao Bei, who was still completely drunk. This was tough, but they were seeing more gold than they had seen in their entire life. Cao Bei had taken everything out. In the end, the women were good enough to make him pay more and more.
Finally, Cao Bei woke up two days later. The effect of the wine was still powerful, but he was fully conscious. Despite his intoxication, he remembered everything that had happened in the room, just by looking at the two naked bodies, still covered in sweat. Simply seeing their chests go up and down as they were breathing, Cao Bei wanted to keep going. But even he was at his limit. The wine had truly been good, apparently.
Letting the two women rest, Cao Bei put on some clothes and left the room to go pay for his stay in the Gilded Cicada Pavilion. Although he had spent all the money he had on him, he was the son of Sect Leader Cao Yun. No matter how much he owed, he knew that people would let him pay later. The young man didn't even realize that he was talking to Jiang Zhenlu, the owner himself. Jiang Zhenlu looked like a very young man, maybe even younger than Cao Bei. He was extremely beautiful. Although Cao Bei was a mediocre cultivator, he could tell that this Jiang Zhenlu was a middle Mortal Warrior. Despite his appearance, he was probably decades, if not a century, older than Cao Bei. However, Jiang Zhenlu completely suppressed his aura in order to appear meek and gentle.
"Sir, how much do I owe you?"
"Esteemed guest, since this is your first visit to our small establishment, we will not go overboard. We decided to round it down to only a few Yuanbao."
Cao Bei didn't notice the viciousness in Jiang Zhenlu's eyes.
"Thank you. I have to admit that I didn't think your Gilded Cicada Pavilion would be this pleasant. It's such a pity that I won't be able to come here often. But I will certainly advise others to patronize you. How much is it? I fear that, unlike you, I did go overboard a little... But it was worth it."
"I sincerely hope so, esteemed guest. Your words are as good as gold to me. Speaking of gold, the honorable guest owes our small pavilion a meager four hundred Yuanbao."
Suddenly, Cao Bei's face froze. Four hundred Yuanbao was an enormous amount of money. Obviously, he thought he had misheard the young man in front of him. Unfortunately, the piercing eyes staring at Cao Bei were telling a different story.
"I'm sorry, but there must be some kind of mistake... You must have meant one hundred, surely."
"No, honorable guest. Since you were lacking the proper amount for gambling and for our women, you took a loan. I have it here. We did try to warn you about the interest rate, but you didn't seem to care that much about it. Each day we don't get paid, we'll have to increase the amount. Actually, you owe us four hundred and seventy-three Yuanbao, but I wanted to be nice since it is your first visit."
"I see..."
Cao Bei was shaking and took the document in front of him. This was the worst loan he had ever seen in his entire life. In fact, this was basically theft. However, he knew that it was completely legit. Even his seal was on the document. Obviously, he had been drunk. Usually, no one would dare to take advantage of Cao Bei because of his father. But here, Jiang Zhenlu had no such fear.
"Fine... I'll need to go to Baziyun City to get enough money to pay you."
Truth be told, Cao Bei had absolutely no confidence he could get this amount of money. The only name that came to mind was Fang Shaolong. His grand-uncle might be generous enough to help him without telling his father. Besides, Fang Shaolong's wife was also very fond of Cao Bei. It hurt him to take advantage of the old couple, but he had no choice. This time, he had truly overdone it. He wanted to go back in time and slap himself unconscious.
"Unfortunately, I do not think that it is possible to let you leave without paying. Of course, you can write to someone so that they can bring you the money. And we won't prevent you from leaving the building. However, you won't be able to leave the city until your debt is paid."
This time, even Cao Bei could hear the threat in Jiang Zhenlu's voice.
"Do you know who I am?!"
"Yes, sir, I do. You were very vocal about that. Sadly, this doesn't put you above the law. You must understand that this amount of money is a lot for anyone. Although it might not be that much for such a great lord as yourself, for us, it is a huge amount of money. Please understand our worries. Your family does indeed have enough money to pay this debt, but they could also simply silence us. So we need to be careful."
Cao Bei's first reflex was to push back. Even if they got paid, they had to be alive to enjoy said money. However, he wasn't stupid enough to threaten the life of a cultivator without any guards with him. This idiot had gotten rid of his guards because they might have reported him to his father. In fact, Cao Bei wasn't even sure whether his father had sent guards to protect him. When he was young, he was certain that Spirit Warriors were secretly protecting him, but he wasn't so sure of that anymore. The best way to know would be to push this Jiang Zhenlu to attack him. But, if he was wrong, he would pay a terrible price. Clearly, this small Gilded Cicada Pavilion was more than shady.
"Even if I wanted to renege on my words, which I wouldn't, my father is a noble man. He would never accept his son not abiding by his word. I accepted this loan, so I will repay you. Sir, there is nothing to gain by pushing this issue further than it needs to be. I can leave my personal seal here. Just let me go to Baziyun City, where I'll get sufficient money from my grand-uncle. I swear on my Dao heart, and on my family name, that I will honor this debt."
A terrifying smile crossed Jiang Zhenlu's face.
"Who is this grand-uncle?"
"Surely, you must know. I'm talking about Fang Shaolong, former Hall Master of Baziyun City's Myriad Cherry Blossom Major Hall."
"Yes, indeed. Sir, you have been a great guest. I understand that this amount of money surprised you. And I don't want to make things difficult or to leave a sour taste in your mouth. We all respect the great hero Cao Yun. As such, I will trust you. Leave us your personal seal, and we'll wait for your return with the money you owe us."
"Thank you."
Cao Bei thought that he was already tasting sourness. All the sweetness of his stay had turned sour and bitter now. Thankfully, he could leave. Getting four hundred Yuanbao would be difficult, and he felt terrible about it, but he had no choice. At some point, his father would learn about it, but for now, he had to make it all go away himself. Maybe it would appease his father a little. As he was thinking about it, Cao Bei realized that he probably had to fear his mother a bit more if she learned everything that had happened in this Gilded Cicada Pavilion.
The young idiot left in a hurry after giving his personal seal to Jiang Zhenlu. What he didn't know, and what he honestly didn't even think about, was that Jiang Zhenlu could also use his personal seal. Unfortunately, Cao Bei couldn't remember everything he had told the young women. Unlike him, they weren't drunk and had made Cao Bei talk and answer all of Jiang Zhenlu's questions. With all that, he would find great use for this seal. In Cao Bei's name, Jiang Zhenlu obtained information from the local Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall and even crafted documents to trick others. From Cao Bei's lips, the women had extracted many things, among them was a great opportunity for Jiang Zhenlu.
Even when Cao Bei paid him, months later, he was unaware of all of that. When, at last, Cao Bei realized everything Jiang Zhenlu had done, the criminal had disappeared. After all, four hundred Yuanbao was enough to live a life of leisure. But now, Cao Bei was faced with the consequences. Among the information stolen by Jiang Zhenlu were important secrets. Since then, Cao Bei had tried to track Jiang Zhenlu without telling anyone the complete truth.
Two months ago, a transport had been attacked. A few guards had been injured, and one of them had sadly passed. Although Cao Bei couldn't be sure, he was convinced that Jiang Zhenlu was behind it. Indeed, this transport was taking a secret route that few knew about, and it contained many high spirit stones from the mines of the Huang family into Baziyun City. The attack had been too efficient. It was as if the thieves had inside information on the transport. Cao Bei was certain that a man had died because of him.
-
Finally, Cao Bei talked to his parents. He kowtowed before them and broke out in tears.
"This unfilial son has wronged you. This unfilial one has betrayed all of the Hongchen Kingdom. Please, Father, Mother, this stupid one begs for your forgiveness even though he doesn't deserve it. I failed to listen to you, over and over again. This time, I did something that I can't atone for. You tried to make me see my errors, but I never learned."
Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue weren't completely surprised, as they could see the shame on Cao Bei's face. However, they weren't aware of what he was talking about. To be honest, they had heard from Fang Shaolong about the four hundred Yuanbao, but it seemed like much more than that. Instead of pressing their son, they waited for him to tell them the entire story. And he did.
The one who was the most furious with Cao Bei wasn't Cao Yun, nor was it Feng Yingyue. Instead, Cao Sheng was mad beyond reason. Cao Sheng grabbed his younger brother and lifted him up in the air.
"You filth! You let a two-bit brigand get a hold of your personal seal because you couldn't contain your appetites?! I always thought you were stupid, but I never thought that you were a beast. What's wrong with you?! If you wanted to be a disappointment, you could have simply faded away, but no! You decided to be a blight on our family!"
"Enough."
Hearing his father's words, Cao Sheng let go of his younger brother. Even he realized that he had gone too far after seeing the look in his brother's eyes, but he couldn't contain his rage. No matter what, he would find this Jiang Zhenlu and cut him apart, piece by piece.
"Son, what hurts me the most is that you waited so long. Had you come to me directly, this situation would have been solved, and no one would have suffered. But because you tried to hide your pitiful stay in this brothel, you caused at least one death, and maybe many more. There will be consequences. Sheng, I have to disappoint you. This Jiang Zhenlu is already dead. Emperor Lixing quickly found him and made him talk. All those who helped him have been dealt with, except for you, Son."
Finally, Feng Yingyue talked.
"Son, this was a day of great joy for me. Not only did your father finally break through, but our whole family was gathered together again after several years. Soon, your father will go back into seclusion, and this is the memory he will keep of you... I love you, son, but you've wronged us."