Chapter Ninety-Six: Red Dust Wanderer

  Leaving Wu Liangbao Pavilion, Chu City didn't return to closed-door cultivation, but instead stepped into the mortal world and arrived at a secluded place of wind and dust.

  This is a luxurious courtyard, where swallows fly about, and everywhere are women of the wind and dust, as well as worldly people stained with red dust.

  Chu Cheng took out a small piece of paper and looked at the line of small words on it, then looked at the scene in front of him, and couldn't help but furrow his brow.

  "Third move east, a traveler bound by worldly dust, fifth room on the left of the seventh floor, Xiang Zhu's elegant pavilion, Pavilion Master Xiang's wife. A majestic 7th rank Refiner and 9th Forging Grandmaster, unexpectedly lingering in the mortal world, infatuated with a worldly woman?"

  Chu Yan's efficiency is indeed very high, three hours ago he asked him to inquire about the whereabouts of Jiu Duan Master, and now there is a result. This note is a seemingly ordinary "passerby" who handed it over to him casually, but the words and unique symbols on it belong to Chu Yan.

  The courtyard in front of me, known as the "First Wind and Dust", is the top-ranking one among all the courtyards of Chu King. It's said that even the lowest-ranking women inside need at least 10,000 gold coins to have a glimpse of their beauty. And if you want to do something more, forget it unless you have 100,000.

  The first row of buildings has eighteen small houses, arranged in a straight line from east to west. The third house from the east is called Hongchen Jilü, naturally ranking third among all the houses.

  In the mortal world, there is a nine-story building with nine rooms on each floor, totaling eighty-one rooms. Each room has an owner, and they are all extraordinary people. Among them, in the seventh floor's fifth room from the left, there is a pavilion called "Xiang Zhu Ya Ge". The hostess of this pavilion is called "Xiang Fu Ren", a mysterious woman.

  This Mrs. Xiang lived in the Xiang Zhu Ya Ge for seven years and only received one guest, that is, Master Jiuduan.

  Jiuxian Master may not come every day, but every day, he has to take out a million gold coins to ensure that Mrs. Xiang will not be tainted by others.

  For seven years, more than two thousand five hundred days, for the sake of Mrs. Xiang, Master Jiuduan invested at least 2.5 billion gold coins, even though he was a seventh-grade artifact refiner, and almost exhausted his family's wealth.

  "Jiuzhu Master had extremely high innate talent and astonishing comprehension. If he hadn't been held back by Mrs. Xiang, wasting a lot of energy and wealth, he would probably be at least an 8th rank artifact refiner by now. What's so special about that Mrs. Xiang, to make him pay such a price?"

  Chu City shook its head and sighed, Wenrou Xiang is a heroic mausoleum.

  "Oh, you little brother, you're also here to have fun? Do you have money? If you do, I'm all yours! But look at what you're wearing, so ordinary and shabby, how much money could you possibly have?"

  "This is the 'first wind and dust', everyone who comes here is at least a young master of a large and noble family, those with lower status don't dare to enter! Young brother, this isn't a place you should be coming to!"

  As soon as Chu Cheng entered the door, he saw those "street girls" who were not qualified to live in the small building, showing off their charm and pointing at him with disdain.

  Chu City smiled faintly and ignored them, instead walking towards the third building on the left, Red Dust Tavern.

  "Huh, as expected, just a naive little kid who doesn't know the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth, daring to go upstairs? Does he have that much money? Another foolish guy trying to eat swan meat like that middle-aged man earlier!"

  "It's just that, even the young master of the Huo family, 'Huo Hong Yan', only comes to me for pleasure, and doesn't dare enter the last building. This little kid actually wants to enter the Red Dust Tavern?"

  "Definitely will be kicked out! Recently, there have been few guests, and my body hasn't been touched for several days, it's all uncomfortable. Sisters don't leave, let's see how that little kid is being driven out, just for fun?"

  "Alright, alright, just for fun!"

  Then the first woman to speak out called out, and 40 or 50 "street girls" gathered around, chattering away. Although they were "street girls", they served "noble guests", thinking themselves superior to Chu Cheng, looking at him as if he was a monkey.

  A warm haven for wandering knights and travelers, providing a cozy place to call home. Even if tomorrow you'll set out on another long journey, at least today there's someone gentle as water by your side to soothe the troubles in your heart.

  A large red wooden gate, always open. At the entrance, two iron tower-like sturdy men with a ferocious and sinister look, blocking all those who shouldn't enter, such as... a down-and-out middle-aged man.

  This is a disheveled man, with an air of unspeakable vicissitudes between his eyebrows, tightly locked in all kinds of worldly worries, looking very attractive.

  But in the mortal world, what can attract the attention of a woman is only money.

  "No money, get out! Red dust traveler, ten thousand gold coins to enter!" The burly man glared at the man with a fierce gaze and shouted loudly.

  "We've come this far, and I'm penniless at the moment. I just wanted to see an old acquaintance again, so please forgive me." The middle-aged man said with a bitter smile.

  "If you don't have money, get out! Don't make me repeat it for the third time!" The burly man on the left was shocked, and a strong aura came forth. This unremarkable guard, unexpectedly, was a Five Elements Realm expert!

  He exuded an aura of intimidation, trying to force the middle-aged man to back down on his own.

  "You two must be new to the mortal realm this year, looking unfamiliar? I come here every year, please let me pass. The other day I encountered an emergency and didn't have any money on me. Please let me in? Another day I'll definitely repay you with a million gold coins, thank you both."

  "Hmph, refusing to leave? Looking for death!" The burly man on the left flashed a fierce glint in his eyes and stretched out his hand to grab at the middle-aged man.

  With this grab, even a strong practitioner of the Seven Treasures Realm would have their skeleton shattered in an instant.

  However, the middle-aged man took a slight step back, and this step was extremely clever. The big man on the left suddenly grabbed empty air and felt extremely uncomfortable, as if that step had retreated into his own throat, like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

  "Blind thing, you're looking for death!" The two burly men on the left and right exchanged a glance, then suddenly reached out together to grab the middle-aged man.

  The two of them worked in perfect harmony, their hands opening up a formation that instantly sealed off the middle-aged man's front, back, left and right.

  But suddenly his eyes blurred, and in the next moment, the middle-aged man was gone.

  "Two more, please make an exception, make an exception." The middle-aged man's voice rang out.

  Two burly men heard the sound, and their body hair stood on end. The man had actually escaped from their encirclement in an instant, in an impossible way, and was now behind them.

  The two exchanged a glance and immediately knew they had encountered a true master. Such a person's cultivation was absolutely far beyond their own!

  "Two more, please be flexible, be flexible." The middle-aged man bowed his hands again with a bitter smile.

  "This... senior, don't bow to us brothers! It's not that we won't let you in, it's just the rules of the mortal world... can't be broken! If this rule is broken, we brothers will also lose our lives!" The burly man on the right smiled even more bitterly:

  "Senior, why make things difficult for us two brothers?"

  The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Alas! I really don't have any money... But now I must see that old acquaintance again, and I cannot break the rules of a red dust wanderer's journey... If the rules are broken, she will definitely not see me! What can be done about this?"

  Seeing him so strong, he was actually stumped by 100,000 gold coins, it's really astonishing.

  Just as he was frowning and looking worried, a clear voice suddenly rang out:

  "One hundred thousand gold coins? I'll lend them to you!"

  The newcomer was none other than Chu Cheng.

  He saw this middle-aged man asking to be beaten, but it happened to be difficult. How could he give up such an opportunity to make friends with him? So he immediately went forward. A mere 100,000 gold coins, what's the big deal?

  The middle-aged man had long known of Chu City's existence and upon hearing this, he let out a bitter laugh:

  "My little friend is loyal, but she... has a rule that I must not take by force or seize, nor can I borrow money from anyone... Alas, what to do!"

  "What's difficult about that?" Chu Cheng laughed and said: "Senior, just casually take some small trinkets, exchange them for 100,000 gold coins from me, and consider it as buying from Senior, how about it?"

  A middle-aged man still smiled bitterly: "I not only have no money, but also have nothing in my hands... nothing at all! Alas, she is so thorough, just doesn't want to see me! For this, even specially found someone to rob everything on me... what to do!"

  "Uh..."

  Chu Cheng was taken aback by the words, but he hadn't expected that someone would make things difficult for this middle-aged man. Moreover, from his expression and tone, it wasn't hard to guess that the person was a woman. And this woman, wasn't she a courtesan?

  A woman of humble origin has wronged a strong man who is at least in the fifth stage, or even the Mountain and Sea stage, yet this strong man does not have any complaints about it...... How absurd is this matter?

  Apart from Jiu Yan's master, there is actually another extraordinary person who is so infatuated with a woman of humble origins?

  Chu Cheng immediately sensed that there was a story behind this.

  He is not a person who likes to listen to stories, but this middle-aged man in front of him should be befriended...

  With a faint smile, Chu Cheng said lightly: "What's difficult about that? Senior can just casually impart something to me, 100,000 gold coins will do as tuition fees, how about it?"

  As soon as this was said, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up, and his gaze at Chu Cheng was filled with approval, affirmation, and gratitude.

  He considered himself the only one in the world, and those who wanted to kneel down and ask for his guidance could form a circle around the King of Chu. Even if they spent 1 billion gold coins, it was not certain that he would speak up. However, at this critical moment, the idea of the city of Chu suddenly enlightened him.

  Moreover, for this clever and calm twelve or thirteen-year-old boy who was far beyond his age on the surface, he began to take an interest in him - there were not many people in the vast Chu kingdom who could arouse his interest.

  Then he glanced at Chu City and his face slowly became strange.

  "Divine fetus and precious blood, a member of the royal family? The avatar of that whale shark in Shanyang Lake must have been to Shanyang City, or even born in Shanyang City? There is a mark on your body of a strong person from the peak of the Mountain Sea Boundary... So, you are actually related to him? It's said he has two sons, the eldest son has already joined the Xuan Lao Sect, and the second son is exactly twelve years old...... So, you are actually his son?"

  A hint of a mysterious smile appeared at the corner of the middle-aged man's mouth as he thought this in his heart.

  "Excellent! Now I'll teach you a trick, make sure you grasp it well."