Chapter 1729: Chapter 1728 (Raw 1739): Still Young

The auction came to an end.

Due to the profit from the Life Juice Source, not only did Xiao Chen end up not spending anything, but he even gained two million Medial Grade Spirit Jades.

“Young Master Xiao, do you really not want my help to arrange for a meeting? The Soaring Dragon Pavilion is rather curious about Young Master Xiao, given that you could obtain the Life Juice Source.”

The pretty maidservant, Xiao Yu, blinked as she looked at Xiao Chen, putting on a cute appearance.

The originally sexy and enticing maidservant immediately turned graceful and sweet, feeling very lovable.

Xiao Chen said indifferently, “It is something obtained by risking my life. There is nothing to be curious about. We’ll meet again if it is fated!”

He was not very interested in the Soaring Dragon Pavilion’s invitation, so he rejected this beauty’s attempt to use her charm to entice him.

Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, not expecting that Xiao Chen would reject her so decisively. She smiled and replied, “Take care. I hope we will have a chance to meet again.”

“Goodbye.”

After taking his leave, Xiao Chen put away the Dragon Pattern Cauldron and walked off.

He happened to run into Jiang He at the doors.

Jiang He showed a very satisfied smile as he fiddled with the jade bottle containing the Life Juice Source, drawing a crowd to gather around and watch.

He behaved so casually in such a high-profile manner. It would be hard not to see him.

Jiang He did not care about those dissatisfied gazes at all. He strode over to Xiao Chen and said with a smile, “My god of fortune—wrong, Brother Xiao. Congratulations on obtaining the cauldron!”

Xiao Chen smiled and said, “You are too polite. You did pretty well yourself. Your harvest is rather large. To think that you even dared to contest with the Cluster Lord’s Residence’s people. How bold of you!”

When Ling Yu saw that this trickster Jiang He did not even change his expression on seeing Xiao Chen, he felt awed in his heart.

However, in terms of acting, my martial uncle is still superior!

This fellow thinks that he fooled Martial Uncle and is feeling cocky. However, he does not know that the Life Juice Source he treasures was sold by Martial Uncle.

Jiang He guffawed and said, “That’s not much, not really much. The people of the Cluster Lord’s Residence are nothing. So, do you need any Life Juice Source? I can give some to you. However, not much, about one hundred grams would not be a problem.”

Ling Yu nearly could not hold it in and almost laughed out loud. After all, his martial uncle had given him fifty kilograms of Life Juice Source.

To think that this Jiang He is not embarrassed to give away one hundred grams.

Jiang He believed that no matter what, he had tricked Xiao Chen and felt apologetic. Without Xiao Chen’s Spirit Jades, he would not have been able to obtain the Life Juice Source.

Giving Xiao Chen one hundred grams was Jiang He’s way of thanking him.

“What’s wrong? Don’t try to be polite with me. Otherwise, it means that you don’t treat me as a friend.”

Upon seeing Xiao Chen remain silent, Jiang He purposely made his tone heavier.

Xiao Chen felt somewhat embarrassed. After you gave me two million Medial Grade Spirit Jades, how can I accept your Life Juice Source?

“Don’t. How about you treat us to some wine instead. After all, you spent a lot of money on that Life Juice Source,” Xiao Chen countered after some consideration.

Jiang He laughed heartily, “Haha! That’s brotherly enough! Come, the Smiling Daughter Pavilion. My treat!”

Xiao Chen thought to himself, This name sounds somewhat like a place for romantic passion.

The Smiling Daughter Pavilion was not a place to seek out passion, just a regular restaurant but with elegant performers who played music.

True to the name Smiling Daughter, one had to pay an extremely high price for the company of these performers.

[TL Note: The Chinese term for daughter here can also mean “money and riches.” In fact, when translated as daughter, it is normally used to refer to daughters of rich families.]

Furthermore, the Smiling Daughter Pavilion was among the top three factions in the Yanwu Dynasty. Its performers were charming and famous enough to attract many geniuses and outstanding talents to spend a lot of money.

A famous performer might even incite a fight between noble scions over just a smile, like a popular idol.

Such things also frequently happened in Soaring Dragon City.

However, as Xiao Chen rarely went to these places, he did not understand much and knew little.

There was a total of eight floors in the Smiling Daughter Pavilion. The higher the floor, the more expensive it was, indicative of one’s wealth and status. Hence, the outstanding talents that patronized the place would do their best to go up to a higher floor.

Clearly, this was not Jiang He’s first time here. He smiled at the maidservant attending to the ground floor and said, “To the sixth floor!”

The sixth floor was the highest floor an ordinary person could go—any higher required special statuses or invitations.

“Our Smiling Daughter Pavilion is the best restaurant within the dozens of nearby clusters. As long as you have enough Spirit Jades, you can even have the pretty performers personally serve you.”

That maidservant explained to Xiao Chen and Ling Yu without holding back anything. Her smile made Ling Yu blush slightly.

Xiao Chen’s expression did not change. He entered the elegant room and sat down. There was a fine painting of mountains and rivers on the wall behind him. Its craftsmanship was exquisite. While he did not know which mountain it depicted, it gave one the feeling of being in that place.

When sitting with the painting behind, he felt like there was a wind with clouds drifting around him, a very wondrous experience.

The room’s appointments were elegant and refined, showing a certain charm.

This place is indeed extraordinary, Xiao Chen thought to himself. For this place to be able to attract the outstanding talents to spend a lot here, it was indeed somewhat extraordinary.

Jiang He familiarly asked that maidservant, “Are there any headliners available today?”

“In reply to Young Master, today is the day where the Flowers on Flowing River is held. Ten headliners will be appearing in turns today.”

The maidservant smiled demurely, answering as she poured wine.

Jiang He’s eyes lit up as he smiled. “Interesting. Brothers, we came at the right time. Actually, I should have guessed it. The Soaring Dragon Pavilion just finished a large-scale auction. The Smiling Daughter Pavilion’s Flowers on Flowing River would definitely be moved up.”

After that, he waved his hand and said, “You may go first. Remember to arrange for four performers skilled at the zither and three pretty girls to accompany us in drinking.”

The maidservant nodded and withdrew.

Ling Yu asked, puzzled, “What is the Flowers on Flowing River?”

Jiang He explained with a smile, “This Smiling Daughter Pavilion occasionally has a headliner appear. After she plays music, people bid for her to accompany them. The Flowers on Flowing River happens once every three months. Ten headliners perform in turns, showing their best skills. This is normally very hard to see.”

Ling Yu smiled and asked, “It is just some performers. Why do people pay so much attention to them?”

“You don’t understand this.” Jiang He clinked his cup with Xiao Chen’s before continuing, “The ten headliners are all extremely gorgeous women, all of them very charming. Their cultivations are even higher than yours. Their talents and air go without saying. This was what they have practiced since childhood. Just one word from the top ten performers in the Yanwu Dynasty’s capital could induce countless experts to offer their services.”

When Ling Yu heard that, he felt flustered, not knowing whether to believe it or not.

Xiao Chen entered deep thought. Aside from the three thousand Great Dao, there were many other side paths. Indeed, someone could comprehend the Dao through music. However, without experiencing killing, walking the line of life and death, no matter how high one’s cultivation was, one would be just like a flower vase.

However, Xiao Chen had not seen the experts of the Music Dao of the Great Thousand Realms yet. So, he waited to see how strong exactly the so-called headliners of the Smiling Daughter Pavilion were.

Jiang He said, “Aside from this, this Smiling Daughter Pavilion is definitely where information spreads the fastest in the Soaring Dragon Great Realm. One can hear a lot of secrets and recent news here.”

Reacting quickly, Xiao Chen discovered that the rooms did not have any restrictions on them.

As long as one focused, one could clearly hear the discussions.

“Recently, more bladesmen have been going to the Dragon Flame Ancient Land. Now that the Soaring Dragon Pavilion’s auction has ended, there will be even more cultivators heading there now.”

“The Dragon Flame Ancient Land can be considered the most attractive land for fortuitous encounters in the Soaring Dragon Great Realm. One can hunt for ancient treasures of the Dragon Race and have exchanges with people of the same generation. Where else can one find a place like that?”

“Actually, you can’t really say that. The various clusters have similar lands of experiential training. However, they can’t attract the outstanding talents of the dozens of nearby astral clusters the way the Soaring Dragon Great Realm can.”

Xiao Chen listened casually and picked up some interesting information.

Ancient treasures of the Dragon Race and experts of the same generation gathering.

If there was an opportunity, Xiao Chen would have to ask around about the Dragon Flame Ancient Land for when he needed experiential training.

Soon, four performers entered the elegant room. After they bowed, the sound of zithers slowly rang out.

There were also three pretty girls sitting at the side, pouring out wine, and chatting with the group.

After three rounds of wine, the melodious sound of flowing water rippled above the eighth floor of the Smiling Daughter Pavilion.

Xiao Chen looked up and saw a fog spreading out. Amid the haze, a flower boat floated over from afar. The ethereal zither music, clear water, and hazy fog inspired wild and fanciful thoughts.

All the noisy chatter from the various floors immediately stopped.

Everyone knew that the true show was going to start. They just needed to wait in anticipation.

As the flower boat approached, it was like a painting slowly unfurling. The fog scattered, and a young maidservant walked out of the flower boat. She looked very refined, cute, and exquisite in her white attire.

This young maidservant appeared pure like a spirit amid the fog, inspiring tender affections.

She carried a flower basket and pulled out a green card. Standing on the flower boat, she looked down from above and announced, “The first headliner to appear tonight is Miss Ling Long, a green card. Miss Ling Long excels at dancing and the pipa. She was once the music teacher of the Yanwu Dynasty’s youngest princess, staying in the palace for three years. She is very well-read and talented in many areas. She has also conducted some research in the Confucian interpretation of the Dao...”

[TL Note: The pipa is a Chinese lute with four strings.]

This was the first time Ling Yu saw such a setup. His eyes opened wide with shock. Then, he asked Jiang He in a soft voice, “Big Brother Jiang, what does the green card mean?”

Jiang He burst out in a peal of laughter. “You are still young; don’t ask this. Be quiet. Miss Ling Long is about to come out.”