Chapter 216: Nauseating

The woman in black skirt showed no fear or anger, only sneering:

“Look, none of the courtesans fancied you. According to the Baixiang Pavilion’s rules, you now owe six thousand gold.”

As she spoke, the woman in black skirt made a token gesture, reaching out for payment—but clearly, the group before her could not afford such a sum.

At that moment, the hemp-clad elder said nothing, merely raised his hand.

The surrounding heavenly qi coalesced into a palm, instantly restraining all six courtesans in the hall and dragging them before him.

“A Tianren?”

The woman in black skirt’s pupils shrank sharply, her face pale with shock; as a Grandmaster of Martial Dao, her entire body erupted in qi, and she instantly retreated.

Even though Baixiang Pavilion was a property of Luoshen Peak, it was merely a lowly brothel; as a madam, her strength came only because Luoshen Peak valued the pavilion’s daily gold influx.

To be honest, the moment she entered the hall, she had already scanned Li Muxian and the others.

She sensed the hemp-clad elder’s internal qi was tightly contained, assuming he was at least a Grandmaster—or higher—but she never imagined he was a Tianren.

How could she possibly discern the true depth of a Tianren?

If he had even a shred of awareness of Luoshen Peak’s existence, he would never risk his hard-won martial cultivation by coming here to cause trouble and die.

In that instant, the woman in black skirt decided to flee immediately—but before she reached the door, a qi palm descended, slamming her down onto the floor.

The terrifying force shattered her thick martial qi, rupturing her internal organs; she spat a gout of blood and instantly lost all mobility.

The gap between a Grandmaster of Martial Dao and a Tianren was as vast as heaven and earth; moreover, the hemp-clad elder was no ordinary Tianren—he didn’t even need a single move to handle the woman in the black skirt.

The large men and servants in the hall, witnessing this, all turned pale with terror and immediately scrambled to flee.

But before they took more than a few steps, a terrifying wave of qi hurled them back, slamming them to the ground with cries of agony.

Seeing this, the scar-faced man snapped out of his despair and burst into loud, joyous laughter:

“Good, good, good! I thought Baixiang Pavilion was so mighty—now you’re all down. Go ahead, get up and kill me if you can!”

As he spoke, he strode to a nearby large man and kicked him hard, sending him flying.

Still unsatisfied, he punched and kicked two others beside him.

Meanwhile, the hemp-clad elder calmly addressed the six courtesans before him:

“Ladies, you may now attend to this old man.”

Hearing this, the six young women before him showed fear—but when they caught sight of the woman in black skirt’s state, they hesitated no longer.

Immediately, each one moved to serve him: pouring tea and wine, massaging his shoulders, pounding his back.

Beside them, the girl in pink watched this scene, gritting her teeth, her face icy as frost; she shouted at the hemp-clad elder:

“We need to leave!”

But the hemp-clad elder made no move, only whispered silently:

“Leaving Baixiang Pavilion isn’t hard—it can’t stop us. I’m just considering how to resolve this without compromising our plan to slip into Luoshen Peak after leaving Bailian City.”

At that moment, one courtesan peeled a longan and fed it personally into the hemp-clad elder’s mouth; the girl in pink saw this and flew into a rage:

“I’d rather believe a rotten old man than you!”

Hearing this, the scar-faced man, having vented some of his hatred, suddenly turned his head.

Seeing the hemp-clad elder so comfortably indulged, he hurried over, eager:

“Elder, could you spare me one or two courtesans? Let me enjoy some too?”

But the hemp-clad elder waved his hand—clearly, he wouldn’t give up even one.

The scar-faced man’s face twisted in frustration, but the memory of the elder’s earlier strike was still fresh; he dared not utter even a single word, only muttered inwardly:

“Old bastard, hoarding six all to yourself—can you even handle it?”

Then he clenched his teeth, glanced around, and finally fixed his gaze on the wounded woman in black skirt.

The next instant, his eyes hardened; he stormed over, seized her hair, and yanked her up:

“You stinking bitch, old and ugly, and you still looked down on me? Pah!”

As he cursed, he slapped her twice across the face—powder flaked off her cheeks, leaving two bright red palm prints.

The woman in black skirt, powerless, glared at him with cold, furious eyes:

“You… are asking for death!”

“Still cursing me? I’ll show you my power right now.”

The scar-faced man sneered, tore open her dress, clearly unable to reach the courtesans—he’d take out his rage on this vile woman instead.

But the next instant, Li Muxian and the hemp-clad elder both spoke to stop him.

“Disgusting!”

The girl in pink spat the word, glared at the hemp-clad elder and Li Muxian, then turned and walked out of the hall.

The hemp-clad elder made no move to stop her, instead turning to Li Muxian and saying:

“If the young master desires a courtesan, you must claim one by your own strength—I will not yield one.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian glanced at the cluster of courtesans surrounding the hemp-clad elder, then frowned and shook his head:

“No need. I’m afraid of catching a disease.”

At this, all six courtesans grew pale.

The hemp-clad elder also froze, his aged face shifting through expressions; after a moment, he narrowed his eyes at Li Muxian:

“Then I truly don’t understand—why did you drag me into this, to claim all the courtesans of Baixiang Pavilion?”

Li Muxian raised an eyebrow:

“Nothing much—I just wanted to see how poisonous this tumor of Luoshen Peak really is.”

Before arriving at Baixiang Pavilion, he had indeed planned to relax here—but he had been thoroughly disgusted by Luoshen Peak.

The hemp-clad elder’s gaze flickered uncertainly, then he whispered quietly:

“Are you an agent of the Great Li court?”

Hearing this, Li Muxian did not deny it, only nodded slightly.

The hemp-clad elder sat up straight, his cloudy eyes fixed on Li Muxian:

“I already sensed you were no ordinary man. I don’t blame you for dragging me into this at Baixiang Pavilion.”

“But now I have a crucial question to ask you.”

(End of Chapter)