Chapter 31: Huh? Clan Chief, why are you here at Bailixuan?

After leaving the robe shop, Yulou and Yu’an wandered through several other stores, and before long, they arrived at the entrance of Bailixuan.

Yu’an still couldn’t resist glancing across the street.

Someone who works as a greeter at a place like Bailixuan can’t possibly be ordinary.

The greeter at Bailixuan’s door cultivates the skill of seeing sixteen directions and hearing eighteen sides.

One glance from Yu’an was enough for the greeter to notice.

Across the street, the Bailixuan greeter flashed forward and appeared before the two youths.

“Bailixuan is offering a free pot of spiritual tea to every guest today—would you two fellow cultivators care to come in and sit?”

Could Bailixuan possibly be a respectable place?

Seeing the greeter approach, Yulou grabbed Yu’an’s arm and intended to walk away immediately.

But the spiritual tea…

Not just that—it was free spiritual tea!

If we don’t drink it, we’ll regret it when we return tonight.

“We’re still young—we can’t afford it, fellow cultivator.”

After some thought, Yulou chose to wave him off, despite Yu’an’s longing gaze.

In terms of spiritual resolve, Yulou was extremely firm.

But the greeter was a professional—the most professional kind.

He grabbed their arms and began to persuade them gently.

“Ah, that’s not right—Bailixuan doesn’t miss a pot or two of spiritual tea.

I’m just a hired hand; bringing in one guest means a little bonus for me.

You get free spiritual tea, I don’t lose—even make a small profit—only Bailixuan takes the loss.

Here’s the deal: you go in, and I’ll throw in a small plate of dried spiritual fruit as well.

What are you waiting for, fellow cultivators?”

Perhaps the greeter’s enthusiasm startled Yu’an—he whispered instead.

“Brother, let’s just go.”

This time, it was Yulou who stopped moving.

Yulou certainly didn’t want to browse Bailixuan—he was simply thinking, why not drink the free spiritual tea?

The greeter made it clear: Bailixuan can afford to give away a pot of tea as bait.

Still, he asked one more question.

“Fellow cultivator, we’re youths of the Wang clan from Anbei. Our ancestral elder is the disciple’s disciple of True Person Danri—you wouldn’t lie to us, would you?”

The greeter was first startled, then smiled even more brightly.

“Of course not—we’d never dare! All business at Huang’s Hundred Treasures Emporium is honest, fair, and trustworthy—honest, fair, and trustworthy!”

“We’ll just come in for one pot of spiritual tea and leave right away—is that acceptable?” Yulou asked.

“Nah, just slip out quietly when you’re done—don’t worry!

The spiritual tea is part of Bailixuan’s promotional expense—it’s a public cost. After you finish one pot, you can refill it three or four times, sip slowly if you like.”

The greeter's calculations were razor-sharp—he was the most sober worker in the cultivation world.

The spiritual tea was given away as part of the promotion; giving it to anyone didn’t affect his performance.

His performance was his own; if these two youths actually spent money, he’d get a commission.

Yulou glanced at Yu’an.

Yu’an’s eyes were filled with determination.

“Brother, we’re just here for the spiritual tea, right?”

It seemed Yu’an knew exactly what kind of place Bailixuan was.

“Right—we’re only here for the spiritual tea!”

And so, under the greeter’s guidance, the two entered Bailixuan!

A world apart.

This was Yulou’s strongest impression.

From the outside, Bailixuan had only a beautiful gatehouse; its entrance looked no different from an ordinary shop.

But inside, it was full of mysteries.

Spiritual wood carved into beams, spiritual silk as curtains, jade mats with golden pillows, immortals seated all around.

In the center of Bailixuan was a pond, with a stage at its heart, surrounded by three tiers of seating, all offering clear views of the performance.

The cultivators seated among the tiers included elderly Qi Refining masters and teenage boys and girls—even Foundation Establishment cultivators were present.

The Bailixuan female immortals moved among the seats as attendants, each smile and frown radiating charm.

They all wore light, revealing cultivation robes—even more beautiful than the silver-spirit gold-embroidered silkworm silk robe Yulou had just seen.

Looking at these figures—some alluring, some delicate, some handsome…

Hmm? Handsome?

Male?

Alright, alright—Bailixuan’s “beautiful” isn’t ordinary; there are male beauties here too.

“Young masters, follow me—I’ll seat you somewhere quieter.”

Leading Yulou, the greeter assigned them a seat on the eastern side of the first tier; the two sat down, tense.

“Don’t rush—I’ll bring your spiritual tea. You can leave whenever you like.”

The greeter walked off with a smile. Yu’an, nervous, turned to his brother.

“When do we leave?”

“Didn’t you just really want to come in? Why do you want to leave now?” Yulou asked with a smile.

“Too many unfamiliar cultivators. Our family rules say: in places crowded with strangers, stay alert—figure out the situation immediately.”

Alright, alright—still the family-rules kid, Yu’an.

As if hearing their conversation, a cheerful female voice rang out.

“Hahaha, then find a female immortal to touch—touch her twice and you’ll know everything. You two little brats are hilarious!”

Yulou and Yu’an turned in surprise toward the speaker.

Beside their seats sat a chubby girl, about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in a golden gauze dress, laughing heartily at them.

“Brother, how should we respond?”

In an unfamiliar place, teased by unfamiliar cultivators, Yu’an was completely flustered and instinctively asked his brother.

After speaking, he realized his mistake.

“No—we should pretend we didn’t hear anything and observe first.”

“Hahahaha, oh no, I can’t—I can’t! Where are you from? Hahaha!”

Yulou stared at the chubby girl, his face darkening, his mind numb.

“Idiot, if you know you should pretend not to hear, why did you speak?!” he scolded.

“Brother, let’s run!”

“Hahahaha, please spare me—you two are too funny! Hahaha—cough! cough! cough! I can’t—!”

Impudent fool!

Yulou wouldn’t hold a grudge just because someone laughed at him—he wasn’t Long Aotian, ready to feud over every slight.

Cultivation is cultivation—cultivating one’s bearing is part of the practice.

He didn’t even look at the chubby girl. He told Yu’an:

“Why run? We’re here to drink tea!”

They couldn’t leave.

If they left now, they’d be mocked for nothing—and they wouldn’t even get the tea. Wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

“Right, right—we haven’t drunk the tea yet.”

After speaking, Yu’an sat up straight, head bowed, eyes closed.

He decided: when the tea came, he’d drink it all, then leave immediately!

Soon, a Bailixuan female immortal arrived to serve the tea. She appeared no older than sixteen or seventeen, with Qi Refining fourth-layer cultivation, dressed in a light white cultivation robe.

Though she was merely serving tea, she performed the task with the grace of an immortal presenting a divine treasure—each motion of pouring and presenting tea left Yu’an stunned.

“What are you staring at? Drink up! Once the tea’s gone, we’ll pack up this plate of dried spiritual fruit and leave—not a single moment longer!”

Yulou scolded.

But Yu’an sat frozen, tea cup in hand.

The ninth-grade spiritual tea was indeed excellent. Yulou set down his cup to pour himself another, but noticed Yu’an’s stillness and asked:

“What’s wrong? Drink! We came here for this tea, didn’t we? It’s all ninth-grade—no mundane tea mixed in.”

“Brother… we can’t leave.”

“What?”

“The Clan Chief is here to catch us!”

“Huh?”

The chubby girl couldn’t hold it in—she burst out laughing again.

“Hahahaha, don’t worry—come to me! You don’t need to fear—I’ll protect you! This is too funny, hahaha!”

Yuan didn’t respond to the impolite cultivator, but pointed to the door and said.

“Look there—our clan chief is by the door.”

Yulou followed Yuan’s gaze and saw Wang Xianmao chatting with what was clearly a steward.

This time, Yulou was truly stunned.

Huh?

Clan chief?

How did you end up at Bailing Xuan?

A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense is extremely strong; in fact, the clan chief had already noticed the two brothers.

Though he hadn’t come to Bailing Xuan to spend, nor to catch his own spoiled heir, he still sent a voice whisper as Yulou looked over.

“You two are dead!”

Yuan swallowed hard in fear and turned to his older brother.

“What do we do?”

Yulou didn’t know what to do either.

He wanted to tell the clan chief he’d only come to drink spiritual tea.

But he realized such an excuse was as ridiculous as a student telling his teacher he’d forgotten his summer homework on the day school resumed.

After thinking it over, he turned to the plump girl who had just laughed at them.

Only this female cultivator could testify that they’d merely come to drink spiritual tea.

The bold female cultivator was already red-faced from laughing, and when she saw Yulou’s pitiful gaze, she couldn’t hold it in again.

“Hahaha, alright, alright, I’ll testify for you!”

Yulou was about to politely thank her, but the clan chief had already finished his conversation and strode toward the two brothers with commanding steps.

He wasn’t truly angry—boys often acted strangely, and such behavior was understandable—but...

When he saw the plump girl sitting beside the two brothers, Wang Xianmao snapped to attention with a sharp clap.

Overwhelmed by terror, his soul and thoughts left his body; long-honed instinct took over.

The old clan chief’s heart raced, his face flushed with nervousness as he bowed deeply.

“Before the True Person Dan Ri, Xianmao had no idea you were here, so...”

Yulou stared in shock at the plump girl in golden gauze robes, instinctively rising to his feet—but stumbled nearly to the ground from panic.

The True Person Dan Ri, who looked like a plump girl, sighed with mild boredom, glanced at the two brothers, then turned to Wang Xianmao still bowing.

“Enough. Come, sit down.”