The hemp-robed elderly man waved a hand, saying, "Things are as they are. Further words serve no purpose. Let us go."
With that, the hemp-robed elderly man headed upstairs first.
The little girl blinked, watched her grandfather's back, and her delicate brows immediately drew together.
She suddenly had an inexplicable feeling that he seemed to be rather enjoying the whole situation.
"Absolutely infuriating."
The little girl gritted her teeth and immediately followed, privately wishing she could give Li Musheng a good thrashing for corrupting her grandfather.
The large men who had surrounded the group also followed closely behind, clearly to prevent any of them from slipping away.
Very shortly, the burly man led the four of them to a lavish hall on the third floor.
"Where are the courtesans? What are they playing at?"
The burly bearded man narrowed his eyes at the pouch of gold and said with a cold smile, "That is nowhere near enough to find you a courtesan."
Hearing this, the scarred man froze for a moment, then suddenly gave the table a tremendous slap, extended his hand, and pointed at Li Musheng and the hemp-robed elderly man, saying, "Are you blind? Am I the only person in this room? Do these two not have money?"
At those words, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow. The scarred man was not entirely wrong. He genuinely had no money.
Throughout the entire journey Hu Rui'an and the others had handled everything, and he had left in a hurry, going to Falling God Peak to fight, with no reason to bring silver at all.
With that thought, he turned to look at the hemp-robed elderly man.
That one went without saying. The coarse, worn hemp robe spoke for itself. He was clearly penniless.
At that point the burly bearded man looked Li Musheng and the hemp-robed elderly man over without a word.
Seeing this, the scarred man gave the table another loud slap, then turned to point at the little girl in pink, saying, "See this? A natural beauty like this one, even as debt collateral here in the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, would be worth at least a hundred gold upward."
"You filth!"
The little girl shot to her feet in an explosion of fury. In the next instant, her hand went to the small pouch at her waist, appearing to be ready to put the scarred man down on the spot.
But the hemp-robed elderly man beside her reached out and stopped her in time, slowly shaking his head.
At that moment, a woman in a long black dress came swaying into the hall.
Behind her came the attendant from before, along with several young women of graceful and alluring figures.
"I heard tonight we have a great guest who wishes to book every courtesan in the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion. Such extravagance. I had to see what manner of person this could be."
The woman in the black dress was heavily made up, and as she spoke she gave a casual wave that sent the burly bearded man immediately stepping aside.
Then the black-dressed woman's peach-blossom eyes began taking in the four of them, and very quickly her gaze brightened and came to rest on Li Musheng.
"What a fine-looking man!"
The black-dressed woman gave a sudden clap, and the face beneath its layers of rouge and powder broke into a beaming smile that sent little flakes of white powder raining down.
Seeing this, the scarred man, seated in his mink-fur armchair, immediately felt aggrieved, and brought his hand down hard on the table, making the black-dressed woman's eyelid jump.
"What is the meaning of this? All this dawdling, whose establishment is this anyway? Get the courtesans out here!"
The scarred man roared at the black-dressed woman, his gaze sweeping the row of young women standing behind her. He swallowed, then added, "And besides, is my face not fine-looking enough? What good is something that looks impressive but delivers nothing?"
Hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at the scarred man.
That is a dangerous thing to say. You are going to get yourself killed.
At that moment, the black-dressed woman, entirely unruffled by the scarred man's outburst, slowly composed her smile and said calmly, "The Hundred Fragrance Pavilion has its own rules. Whether you have come to cause trouble or to seek entertainment, all who come to the door are guests."
"Since you want the courtesans, I can of course accommodate you. But if you cannot meet the cost, then the rules must be observed, and the consequences are yours to bear."
At those words, the scarred man brought his palm down and smashed the table in front of him to splinters, and shouted, "What are you prattling on about? If I had no money, why would I be asking for courtesans? Am I here to get myself killed?"
As he said this, the scarred man's heart was crying inwardly.
He did not want to die. But Li Musheng had decided to die and dragged him along for it, so if that was how it was going to be, they might as well have a proper time of it first. That way at least he would not have lived for nothing.
At that point the black-dressed woman glanced at the scarred man, narrowed her eyes slightly, and said, "The Hundred Fragrance Pavilion has nine courtesans in total. Three are currently entertaining guests. The rest have all been brought here for you."
With that the black-dressed woman clapped her hands, and the six young women behind her came forward with graceful, measured steps and came to stand before the four of them, slowly drawing to a stop and inclining their heads in a slight bow.
These young women were slender-waisted and each one breathtakingly beautiful. Their dark hair was pinned up with jeweled gold hair ornaments that trembled and swayed with every movement, scattering light.
Their skin was white as frost and smooth as jade, each with lips like a touch of vermilion and eyes full of flowing autumn light, radiating with a captivating brilliance at every glance.
The scarred man's entire body trembled as he got to his feet. Looking at the gorgeous young women before him, his eyes went slightly vacant, and he lunged forward at once, bellowing, "I will take all of them!"
In that moment his heart had even begun to come around to Li Musheng's idea of booking every courtesan in the place.
To spend a night with these courtesans, he would die willingly.
But at that very moment, the black-dressed woman extended one hand and stopped the scarred man effortlessly where he stood.
No matter how he strained to move forward, he could not budge a single inch.
"The rules of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion state that ladies valued at one hundred gold or above choose their own patrons. The courtesans must take a liking to you first."
The black-dressed woman said this without any expression, then gave a light push with her hand, and the scarred man was launched through the air and landed back into the armchair with a thud.
That push brought the scarred man back to his senses considerably. His expression shifted rapidly, and then he sat up and looked at the black-dressed woman, saying in a low voice, "By that logic, if none of them choose us, we do not owe any silver at all?"
The black-dressed woman suddenly broke into a flower-like smile, saying, "The rules of our Hundred Fragrance Pavilion are that whether or not a courtesan selects a patron, not a single coin of what the patron owes may be withheld."
At those words the scarred man froze, and then his entire body began to shake violently. He grabbed at his own head in uncontrollable fury and howled, "This is an outrage! An absolute outrage! How can such an unreasonable rule possibly exist?"
As he shouted, the scarred man suddenly raised his head again, saying, "No. I do not want the courtesans anymore. Any woman in the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion will do, bring them all up here."
He looked at the black-dressed woman and said through gritted teeth, "You will do as well."