Chapter 516: Fox Tail

When Wu Tie left the East Garden, a snowflake suddenly drifted down from the sky.

Wu Tie stood there, stunned.

He looked up at the sky; amidst the thick red clouds, one, two, three… goose-feather snowflakes fell lightly.

Snow!

Heavy snow!

Snow he had only seen in the knowledge library taught by Lao Tie, but never personally experienced.

Sun, moon, stars; clouds, mist, rain, dew; flowers blooming and falling; summer months, winter snow… This is the universe; this is heaven and earth; this is what all living beings should possess and enjoy.

Born on this land, all beings sharing the same bloodline, regardless of their appearance—whether standard humans or, after returning to their ancestral roots and tracing their origins, mutated into oxen, wolves, winged folk, fishfolk, or countless other strange creatures—should equally enjoy the blessings of this heaven, earth, and universe.

Because this heaven and earth, and the myriad lives it nurtures, all share the same origin!

Wu Tie's divine fetus trembled slightly, then two streams of hot tears flowed down. The exalted Duke of Jade Prefecture of the Great Jin Divine State, for a few snowflakes silently falling, actually shed tears.

"How wonderful!"

Wu Tie wiped away his tears, smiling lightly.

He thought of Wu Zhan, then Wu Jin, Wu Tong, and Wu Tie himself, and most of all he thought of Grey Master.

He gently patted his chest with his hand; Grey Master resided within his body. The one who had taught him to read and write since childhood, who had taught him reason and emotion, and who ultimately sacrificed himself to teach him to be ruthless and cruel, had not left—he dwelled inside Wu Tie's body.

Unfortunately, they never got to admire this magnificent, light snowfall from the sky.

Wu Tie hummed a tune softly; the melody was beautiful, the indistinct lyrics faintly audible.

"Spring has a hundred flowers, autumn has the moon, summer has cool breezes, winter has snow"……

This is from antiquity—a song whose name has been lost, very pleasant, containing an ancient, simple Dao rhythm; inexplicably, it surfaced from the vast sea of knowledge, and Wu Tie softly sang it as he stepped on the snow, turning into a wisp of clear wind that pierced mountains and ridges, heading straight for the southeast of An Yang City.

In the southeast of Great Xia, aside from the core hundred prefectures like Jade Prefecture, lies the truly fertile land.

The land and water are abundant, canals numerous, everywhere fertile fields, everywhere wealth.

The population thrives, culture flourishes; someone once said, even if it's Jade Prefecture, being in the north, its people carry a hint of savage brutality, whereas only the people of the southeastern prefectures of Great Xia are like jade carvings, inside and out exuding a civilized spirit.

Refined, translucent, civilized, spirited—here the handsome men and beautiful women are more carefree, more composed, and more gently elegant than those of Jade Prefecture or An Yang City.

Everything here is exquisite.

For example, the four small dishes placed on the table before Wu Tie each had a diameter of only three cun; the cold filling occupied about one cun of the center of each dish—a tiny bit of cold food that, in the north, wouldn't even be enough to stuff between one's teeth.

With such portions… if placed in other prefectures, the tavern owner would likely be beaten to death on the spot.

This is totally a shady establishment!

But in the southeastern prefectures, such portions are just right; if you actually served a few greasy trotters or similar dishes, only peddlers and laborers would go there—a low-class eatery unfit for respectable folk.

The four tiny dishes, one just able to hold a four-liang porcelain pot of osmanthus‑brewed wine; the wine cup before him was about the size of a lovely lady's thumb tip, and Wu Tie, standing over fifteen chi tall, lifted this tiny cup, nearly dropping it into his throat several times.

With a slap, he set the cup on the table and roared: "Waiter, change to a big bowl, bring a jar of good wine… and how about a whole roasted lamb?"

Pat pat pat, Wu Tie threw three large chunks of gold onto the table.

At this moment, Wu Tie had changed his appearance, and indeed he now bore the likeness of Wu Jin.

Wu Jin had endured fierce battles and miraculous encounters in the nether world; he stood over ten chi tall, muscles bulging all over, basically a humanoid beast. At this moment Wu Tie let out a great shout, shaking the exquisite little building, and the nearby dozen or so tables of patrons turned, frowned, pursed their lips, and instinctively covered their noses with their sleeves.

Wu Tie gave a cold snort, his eyes flashing with menace, and glanced at the surrounding dozen tables: "What? Do I stink? If you dare cover your noses again, I'll break your noses."

The tavern's patrons fell silent for a moment, then each lowered their sleeves, deliberately raising their voices to talk loftily, speaking nothing but flowery poems and songs.

Wu Tie gave a cold snort and fiercely glared at the tavern keeper hurrying over.

Being fierce enough makes people fear you.

Having wealth makes people respect you.

Being both fierce and wealthy, in many places you are nothing less than a true bully.

So Wu Tie's demands were quickly satisfied: a whole lamb roasted to a golden yellow, a large jar of fine wine, a big sea‑bowl, and they were soon brought up.

Wu Tie gulped down wine from the big bowl, tore large chunks of meat from the roasted lamb, and ate until his mouth was full of oil.

He ate and drank with a "bah‑bah" sound, inexplicably stirring the appetites of the surrounding patrons; their lofty talk softened, yet their eating and drinking sped up involuntarily.

After eating and drinking his fill, Wu Tie kept calling for wine and meat, polishing off four jars of strong liquor, two roasted lambs, two roasted pigs, and countless other dishes before finally setting down his hand; he casually snapped a chopstick with a "crack", twisted it haphazardly into a long toothpick, and then proceeded to pick at his mouth full of white teeth.

"Waiter, we came from the north to here to make a living. Does Golden Flower Prefecture have any good ways to make money?" Wu Tie asked bluntly of the two timid waiters standing nearby.

Those in trade have the sharpest eyes; Wu Tie's demeanor clearly shows he's not on the up‑and‑up, not an honest commoner.

If you provoke him, and a big brawl breaks out, who would be liable for the broken goods?

This Golden Sparrow Tower, in Golden Flower Prefecture City, ranks among the top three establishments; each table and chair is costly, and breaking them would be a shame.

Therefore, the tavern keeper of Golden Sparrow Tower specially assigned two waiters to attend to Wu Tie.

These two waiters are not only sharp‑eyed but also have just entered the Life Pond Realm in body cultivation; such talent could serve as a commandant leading troops in the army, yet here they are merely runners at Golden Sparrow Tower!

Wu Tie just gave a heh‑heh.

Although those two waiters have powerful spirit‑talisman disguises on them, how formidable is Wu Tie now? His eyes have been cultivated into Fiery Eyes Golden Pupils, best at discerning demons and monsters.

One waiter came up smiling obsequiously, bowed low, and said: "Sir, our Golden Flower Prefecture is rich in treasures and blessed with talented people; it's a top‑notch place in the Great Jin. As for ways to make money, every one of the three hundred and sixty trades can bring profit!"

He raised a thumb, the waiter chuckled and looked at Wu Tie: "Seeing that you have cultivation, let me say this: if you go outside the city to White Mist Mountain and manage to bring back a thousand‑year white flower snake, our tavern owner is willing to spend a million taels of gold to buy it!"

The patrons in the hall simultaneously revealed sly smiles.

They knew this waiter of Golden Sparrow Tower was the slipperiest, deliberately setting a trap to swindle people!

The thousand‑year white flower snake of White Mist Mountain is a demonic beast that has cultivated great supernatural powers; moreover, the white flower snakes there form an enormous demonic clan, even the prefect of Golden Flower Prefecture tolerates their existence.

The thousand‑year white flower snake—three years ago, the ruler of Golden Flower Prefecture City, who suffered from an unspeakable ailment, spread the word on the black market seeking a thousand‑year white flower snake to steep in liquor to cure his shameful condition.

The lord of Golden Flower Prefecture City, who ranks among the top ten figures in the prefecture, offered not a million taels of gold but a million primordial crystals as payment!

The exchange rate of primordial crystals to gold has always been around one to one hundred, or even one to one twenty.

This news is known to every notable person in Golden Flower Prefecture City; this waiter of Golden Sparrow Tower is clearly trying to swindle someone!

But the target of the swindle is this sort of barbaric, vulgar northerner… hehe, pleasing to the eye, hehe!

Wu Tie furrowed his brow, vigorously rubbing his smooth scalp: "One million taels of gold? A thousand-year white flower snake? Hey, hehe, this money, is it so easy to earn?"

attendant

Gold Flower Prefecture City

none.

A large mansion with five courtyards front and back, complete with servants, guards, retainers, and maids, costs at least several tens of thousands of taels of gold per year. One million taels of gold would be spent clean in less than thirty years.

Thousand-year White Flower Snake

Fetal Storage Realm

Would a master of the Womb Storage Realm spend a lifetime with one million taels of gold?

This waiter is cursing Wu Tie to die quickly, at most living another thirty years!

These words were vicious; everyone in the hall heard the meaning, and many guests in long robes, full of scholarly air, covered their mouths and chuckled secretly.

none.

He vigorously rubbed his scalp with both hands and said bluntly: "Waiter, you gotta tell me what that thousand-year white flower snake looks like!"

Outside the tavern, the snow fell heavier and heavier.

wearing a black coin-patterned outer robe, a square warm hat, a leather rope, and a cloud-pressing snow small hunting dog

overweight middle-aged with four servants

overweight middle-aged, Qin Yun Pavilion

The two waiters from the Golden Sparrow Tower had already briskly opened the main hall door on the first floor, bowing and scraping as they repeatedly saluted the stout man: "Sir Hu, greetings, Sir Hu, you today still take your usual window-side seat, eh? Hey, it's freezing cold, shall I bring you an incense brazier?"

About 1 zhang 2 chi tall, with a waist circumference likely over 1 zhang, his face like a silver basin and his sideburns appearing as if smeared with vermilion, red and ruddy, Sir Hu let out a light hum, strode into the Golden Sparrow Tower, leading two small hunting dogs, he circled and bowed to the guests in the hall.

"Hey, good afternoon, everyone... this snow is kinda interesting! Hey, a brazier? I, old as I am, still growing stronger, can at least toss and turn the newly acquired 127th concubine a dozen times in a night; this bit of Cold Qi, what need is there for a brazier?"

Sir Hu laughed heartily, casually gave the waiter who had just spoken a light slap, then flung a gold ingot weighing several dozen catties into his bosom.

"Cut the nonsense, following my preference, set up a six-by-eight table layout… uh, still use a hundred-year-old white lotus brew, no watering it down, or else I'll take your mother back to the manor."

The guests in the hall all burst out laughing.

Then a few oily-faced middle-aged men laughed loudly: "Waiter, now that Sir Hu has become your godfather, you've made it, right?"

"Waiter, hurry up and kneel, call Sir Hu!"

nine-eight

The hall rang with laughter, the air filled with the particular jovial atmosphere of the marketplace.

Wu Tie also grinned, smiling in a simple-minded way.

He tilted his head to look at Sir Hu, and Sir Hu also noticed Wu Tie sitting at the central table in the hall, much taller and stouter than those around him.

Sir Hu smiled and nodded at Wu Tie, his gaze naturally sliding past him.

Wu Tie grinned, his gaze gloomy as he looked at the two small hunting dogs whose fur was like dark clouds covering snow: "Hey, good dogs, good dogs, they could yield thirty catties of fine lean meat!"

Sir Hu's face twitched once, he angrily glared at Wu Tie, then thrust a finger hard at him.

Inside the hall, several customers immediately rose in righteous indignation, pointing at Wu Tie and shouting: "What scoundrel, how dare you be rude to Sir Hu? Even one of Sir Hu's dogs is nobler than a lout like you!"

"Kid, we're watching you… if you dare cause trouble in Jin Hua Zhou, be careful we'll put you in a life-or-death bind!"

"You little brat, this is Jin Hua Zhou, not the place for you northern barbarians… mind your words and deeds, don't bring trouble to your family!"

Wu Tie let out a heavy cold snort, lifted one leg, and with a toothpick made from chopsticks he poked around wildly in his mouth, striking a pose of utter indifference.

Linghu Gu

Great Jin Eastern Palace Guard Commander

Great Jin Eastern Palace Incident

That night, Linghu Gu 'died in battle', thereafter disappearing from public view; Linghu Qingqing, for the sake of this eldest legitimate son's death, went a full year without attending court deliberations.

Great Jin Southeast Gold Flower Prefecture City

Linghu Family

Fox Tail

Spirit Fox Tail

Sima Wuyou

Wu Tie went far to Golden Flower Prefecture, simply ordered to deal with Hu Wei, to deal with Linghu Gu!