AST 171 Decked in Magnificent Splendor, Earthly Paradise
“32,000 taels!” A voice called out from a reserved room on the third storey!
“50,000 taels!” Qing Shui raised the bid to 50,000 straightaway to tell others that he was bent on getting the item. It was also to tell the others that he had the money.
After Qing Shui called out, the whole place turned silent for a moment.
“This sir here has called out for a bid of 50,000 taels. Are there any higher bidders?” The auctioneer smiled warmly and said.
“80,000 taels!” A voice called out from the reserved room on the third storey.
Qing Shui smiled bitterly. He knew that he had met up with an obstinate donkey. With only 30,000 taels of silver, it would probably be hard for him to win the bid for the Potential Fruit.
To prevent malicious price competition, you would need to pay 10% of the highest price you had called out, regardless if you are the eventual winner of the bid. The purpose of this was to deter people from intentionally raising the prices and causing inflation.
“Ah Biao, later go do a check on the background of that fellow. Check out where he is from.” The
well-dressed and robust man said to a strong youth wearing black warrior garb.
The robust man sat on a comfortable tall sofa which could reach the height of an adult’s neck. A tall uniformed lady in disheveled clothes had her bountiful breasts revealed. Half of her perked butt was also displayed as she stood and buried her head to suck on the man’s bottom half.
Those who visited this place came to enjoy the unique uniforms and mental satisfaction!
“100,000 taels!” Qing Shui called out helplessly.
“It’s 100,000 taels now. 100,000 taels, are there any higher bids?”
The auctioneer shouted out excitedly on the stage, and was even starting to boast of the effects of the Potential Fruit. He had initially said that the effects were unknown, but now he had started to speculate possibilities and state vague descriptions to fuel the excitement.
From the point that Qing Shui had raised the bid, it had become a contest between him and the man on the third storey. Now, everyone was enjoying the show.
“This foreign youngster has guts. Even if he has the money, he shouldn’t be going against someone from the Giant Sword Sect. He’s going to be down on his luck.” A voice whispered to someone beside him.
“That’s right. This Brother Hu is not just the grandson of the Elder of Giant Sword Sect, but is also the direct descendant of the Hu Clan.” The middle-aged man beside him also exclaimed.
“150,000 taels!” The voice from the third storey sounded slightly infuriated.
“300,000 taels!” Qing Shui called out an astonishing sum. Qing Shui had thought about it. If the other party called for a higher bid again, he could only give up.
“300,000 going once!”
“300,000 going twice!”
“300,000 going thrice, deal! Congratulations to this sir who won the bid for the Potential Fruit at 300,000 taels.” The auctioneer congratulated Qing Shui happily.
“Fool!”
“Idiot!”
…
“Ah, how dare he fight with me! Ohh!… ahh!” The robust man exploded amidst the quick movements of the uniformed lady’s mouth. The sensuous lady then used her tongue to clean that ugly thing of his.
Although Qing Shui had spent all his money, he was elated. If his money was gone, he could always earn them back. Once good things were gone, it would be hard to come across them again. One must always grab onto opportunities when they arise. This was the doctrine that Qing Shui adhered to in this lifetime.
Qing Shui did not care about the others’ discussions. What about the grandson of Giant Sword Sect’s Elder or the direct descendent of the Hu Clan? As long as he was with Cang Lang Country’s Skysword Sect, anything could be settled. Qing Shui was only concerned about people who have managed to cross to a higher realm.
The auction continued. Having neither any money nor desires to watch the auction, Qing Shui left with the Potential Fruit. Without even money for a meal, Qing Shui thought that he would need to replenish his stocks so that he would not have to be so violent when he would come across the things he needed.
“Brother, please hold on!”
He had not walked far from the auction hall when he heard someone calling. Qing Shui smiled. When he was in the auction house, he knew that that Brother Hu from the third storey would definitely not let him go so easily.
Brother Hu would probably know who in the country was strong, and who he could not afford to offend. How could he let go of a stranger who had made him lose face? The people in the world of the nine continents valued their reputation the most. One could lose money but not their reputation.
Qing Shui turned his head and saw that it was a youth in a black suit. While he looked quite sturdy, he was nothing to Qing Shui. Qing Shui felt that when he would come across such people, he had the mentality as if he was playing a game. It was said that experts had all treated life like a game, and Qing Shui could understand that feeling very well now.
“Looking for me?” Qing Shui gave a light smile and asked intentionally.
“My Young Master would like to invite Brother to come over. He has some things to talk to you about.” The youth in black smiled and said.
“Who is your Young Master? Why do I have to go and meet him? Who does he think he is?” Qing Shui remained smiling as he replied.
Qing Shui hated these people who addressed themselves as Young Masters or gentlemen. This was the sign of someone from the boomerang generation. Without the protection of the previous generation, or even generations, they were nothing but a pile of sh*t. The clan members from big clans would definitely not be so arrogant and ignorant to act like a local tyrant.
“I gave you face by addressing you as brother. Don’t be brazen.” The youth’s face immediately sunk and five similarly dressed youth appeared in an instant.
“I don’t need you guys to give me respect, but I just feel like bashing people now.” Qing Shui sent the few youths who were at Grade 6 of the Martial Warrior Realm flying with his attacks. Five of them had even fainted, leaving the one who had spoken up from the start still conscious.
“Trash!”
Qing Shui walked to the only conscious youth and said softly.
Seeing that it wasn’t too late, Qing Shui decided to take a good look around this outstanding location in Cang Lang Country. After all, those who traded, established their name, started businesses, had their shop fronts in this area were all people with power.
It was the same no matter where you went. With money, you will have power. With power, you will have money.
Passing by the most prosperous crossroad, there were the two most successful and wide roads in Cang Lang Country. One was along the east and west, while the other was along the south and north. The width of the road was no less than 1000 metres, and could allow for a few large-scaled beast carriages to pass through concurrently.
Qing Shui followed the flow of the crowd through the road. As he raised his head, he saw that diagonally across the Country Auction Hall was an equally luxurious building.
“Earthly Paradise！”
What a stylish name. Qing Shui stood from afar and looked at the few words in a dark golden color, shining as though they were magically under the afternoon sunlight. Then, he smelled a light fragrance.
“This fragrance is able to be compared to that of the Realm’s black fishes and the All Aspect Nourishment Soup.” Qing Shui could already smell that irresistible aroma when he was 500 metres from the building displaying magnificent splendor. The name Earthly Paradise was on the signboard.
Qing Shui was stunned. To think that it was possible to create such fragrant delicacies. Just by its fragrances alone, it was able to live up to its name!
Earthly Paradise. Qing Shui felt that he could only come across such magnificence in his dream. It was long past lunchtime, but there was still an endless human stream passing through the wide entrance as the wealthy patrons were the majority.
Qing Shui looked at the few crushed silvers on him which did not add up to 10 taels. When he was at the entrance, Qing Shui saw that there was an old man with one leg crippled sitting a short distance away. He had a broken bowl in front of him containing a few copper coins.
What made Qing Shui happy was that he saw a female waitress coming out with bags of leftover food. She passed them to the old man and a few kids in the vicinity who seemed like beggars.
No matter how wealthy or prosperous the place was, there were bound to be beggars. Qing Shui gave away all the crushed silver he had to that old man and the few kids as he entered the door to the Earthly Paradise. There wasn’t enough money for a meal anyway.
The female usher at the door bowed and greeted Qing Shui with a smile!
Qing Shui was brought to the hall on the second floor as the first floor was already completely occupied. There were no reserved rooms in Earthly Paradise and all customers were treated the same. This made Qing Shui feel astonished. It was hard to believe that such a luxurious restaurant did not have reserved rooms.
“Do you have reserved rooms here?” Qing Shui looked at the sweet looking waitress and asked.
“Yes, we used to have them, but they were eventually taken down at a later time!” The waitress smiled and said.
“Can you tell me why?” Qing Shui would very much like to know what had happened that angered the boss of Earthly Paradise as to take down the reserved rooms. Reserved rooms were able to bring in more money than the halls.
The waitress said shyly, “I heard from someone that five years ago, a waitress had served dishes to a VIP room. Sadly, she was gang r*ped by those rich Young Masters in the room. The waitress committed suicide there and then!”
“This is the reason why your boss had to take down the reserved rooms?” Qing Shui asked in surprised.
“Mmm, that’s right. Our boss even killed those profligate sons on the spot and threw them onto the streets. She immediately ceased operations for the day to abolish the reserved rooms. From then onwards, no one dared to take advantage of the waitresses at Earthly Paradise.” The waitress’s eyes were full of respect at the mention of her boss.
Qing Shui ordered a few of the most expensive dishes. He thought to himself that he must definitely meet the boss of such character. Moreover, the reason he was here was to meet with the boss.
Very soon, the waitress served up the dishes. Qing Shui invited her to join him for the food, but was rejected. He could only enjoy the delicacies himself.
When he tasted the food, he realised that it was still far from the taste of the black fishes and the All Aspect Nourishment Soup from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He soon dismissed the thought since it was quite an accomplishment to be able to attain such level based on culinary skills alone.
“What’s your name? How do I address you?” Qing Shui asked the waitress who was at the side as he ate.
“You can call me Little Shu!” The lady smiled and said.
Qing Shui felt that her smile was very sweet and full of a young girl’s vigor!
“Little Shu, what will happen to someone if he ate here without paying?” Qing Shui smiled awkwardly.
“Eat without paying? We haven’t had such an encounter yet. Oh, it should be from 5 years ago since people stopped eating without paying. Not a single person dared to keep tabs.” Little Shu replied with a cute smile after recovering from the surprise.
“Little Shu, if I were to tell you that I don’t have any money, would you believe me?” Qing Shui continued eating and asked.
“It’s not important whether I believe you or not.” Little Shui smiled gently and said.
“Why? Are you guys not afraid that I would eat without paying?” Qing Shui asked, puzzled. After all, he was definitely going to eat without paying. Moreover, this would also let him accomplish the goal of meeting the boss here.
“Our boss has given the word that you can enjoy the food here for free. No matter when you come, it would all be free.” Little Shui said happily.
Qing Shui was stunned. He had made quite a few enemies in Cang Lang Country, but not any friends.
“Little Shu, stop keeping me in suspense. What is going on? I really don’t have any money. Can you bring me to meet your boss?” Qing Shui finished the last bite and said as he stood up.
“Our boss decided this just because you had been charitable to those few poor people earlier. So, we can let you have a free meal. As for the most important reason, you’ll find out after you meet our boss. Let’s go, our boss would also like to meet you.” Little Shu led Qing Shui upstairs happily.
Qing Shui was very confused, but he could only follow the cute and intelligent girl upstairs. The structure of the stories were such that the hall where the customers dined in was in the middle, while the outside was a row of corridors.
The structure of the building consisted of the base being big while the length and width of each storey was no shorter than 100 meters. However, there were not that many levels. Out of the six levels in Earthly Paradise, there were only five used for operations. The highest level was not open to the public.
They soon reach the fifth level, and even the location of the stairways leading up was changed. There were also two female guards there, and they nodded their heads when they saw Little Shu. Little Shu and Qing Shui took the stairs and headed up to the sixth floor.
The design of the sixth floor was very simple, but had a good ambience with only a few rooms. There was a divider in the middle, a few boulders, and evergreen trees. There was even a patch of grass!
“Our boss is inside, but you may enter by yourself!” Little Shu smiled, pointed at the divider, and said.
Qing Shui passed by the divider and was stunned when he noticed a slender peerless beauty in purple standing behind the divider! Dressed in purple, she seemed more poised and graceful. Her long and narrow phoenix eyes with long lashes exuded an indescribable charm. She was still not like his goddess-like master who could overthrow countries and cities with her beauty, but she could still draw souls away.
She was a quiet lady, and her graceful posture and gaze would make one infatuated. She was Huoyun Liu-Li, a lady who was a perfect combination of intellectual beauty and charm!