The black-dressed woman showed neither fear nor anger, only letting out a cold laugh, saying, "Look now. None of the courtesans have taken a liking to any of you. By the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion's procedure, the six thousand gold is now due."
As she spoke, the black-dressed woman extended a hand in a token gesture of collection, though it was obvious the group before her could not possibly produce the full amount in gold.
At that moment, the hemp-robed elderly man said nothing further. He simply raised his hand and grabbed through the air.
The True Qi of heaven and earth around him condensed into a palm, which locked all six courtesans in the hall in place and drew them to stand before him.
"Heaven-Human?"
The black-dressed woman's pupils contracted sharply and her face filled with shock. As a martial Grandmaster herself, True Qi erupted from her in an instant and she flashed backward without hesitation.
Even though the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion was a Falling God Peak establishment, it was ultimately nothing more than a low-ranking house of entertainment. That she as its madam possessed such strength was only because Falling God Peak placed value on the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion's ability to generate enormous daily income.
To be honest, the moment she had entered the hall she had quietly assessed the situation of every person in Li Musheng's group.
She could sense that the True Qi within the hemp-robed elderly man was held close and contained, which she had taken to mean he was at minimum a martial artist of Grandmaster level or above. Yet she never could have imagined the man was a Heaven-Human level martial artist.
Anyone with even a passing awareness of what Falling God Peak was would never in their right mind throw away the hard-won martial cultivation they had spent their life building by picking a fight in the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.
In the space of a single thought, the black-dressed woman had already decided to flee at once, but before she had retreated even as far as the door, a True Qi palm print came crashing down and drove her directly into the ground.
The terrifying force shattered the dense martial True Qi within her body, crushing her internal organs and sending her coughing up a mouthful of blood. In an instant she was entirely stripped of the ability to move.
The gulf between a martial Grandmaster and a Heaven-Human practitioner was like a chasm between heaven and earth, and the hemp-robed elderly man was no ordinary Heaven-Human martial artist at that. Dealing with the black-dressed woman had not required even a single full move.
The large men and attendants in the hall all went pale with terror at the sight of this, and without any hesitation turned to flee in a panicked rush.
But before any of them had gone more than a few steps, a fearsome wave of True Qi sent them flying back, and they crashed to the ground with cries of pain.
The scarred man saw all of this, and when it registered, his entire being flipped instantly from despair to elation. He broke into loud laughter, shouting, "Excellent, excellent, excellent! And here I thought the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion was so formidable. You are all flat on the ground already. Come on then, anyone who can, get up and finish me off!"
As he spoke, he strode over to one of the large men who had crashed down nearby, and sent him flying with a fierce kick.
Still not satisfied, he turned on two others close at hand and began laying into them with both fists and boots.
At the same time, the hemp-robed elderly man calmly addressed the six courtesans he had drawn in front of him, saying, "Ladies, you may attend to this old one now."
The six young women who had been pulled forward all wore expressions of fear, but after catching a glimpse of the black-dressed woman's pitiful state out of the corner of their eyes, they hesitated no longer.
They immediately sprang into action, pouring tea, serving wine, kneading his shoulders, and patting his back.
The little girl in pink watched this scene with her teeth clenched and her small face set in a frost, and shouted at the hemp-robed elderly man, "We need to leave."
The hemp-robed elderly man, however, made no move to do so, and only sent a quiet transmission saying, "Leaving the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion presents no difficulty. A place like this cannot do anything to us. What I am working through right now is how to resolve this situation in a way that does not compromise our ability to leave Hundred Refinements City and make our way into Falling God Peak afterward."
At that point, one of the courtesans was peeling a longan fruit and personally placing it into the hemp-robed elderly man's mouth. The little girl in pink watched this and erupted with fury, shouting, "I trust you and your nonsense about as far as I can throw you, you scheming old man!"
Hearing this, the scarred man, having vented a fair portion of his resentment, suddenly turned around.
Seeing how comfortably the hemp-robed elderly man was settled, he came rushing over at once, his face full of eager anticipation, saying, "Senior, would you be willing to spare one or two of the courtesans for me? Let me enjoy myself as well."
The hemp-robed elderly man, however, simply waved a hand, his meaning clearly being that he would not spare a single one.
The scarred man's expression went through a rapid series of changes, but the scene of the hemp-robed elderly man making his move was still fresh in his memory, and he did not dare so much as breathe a complaint. He could only curse inwardly, "You old scoundrel. Keeping six all to yourself. Let's see if you can handle it."
Then he gritted his teeth, looked around the room, and eventually his gaze settled on the black-dressed woman lying gravely injured on the floor.
In the next instant his eyes hardened, and he strode over to her with barely contained fury, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her upright, saying, "You repulsive creature. Old and ugly, and you still had the nerve to turn your nose up at me. Disgusting."
With that he struck her hard across the face twice, sending the rouge and powder raining from her face and leaving two vivid red handprints behind.
The black-dressed woman had no strength in her body, and could only fix the scarred man with a cold, furious stare, saying, "You... are dead."
"Still cursing at me, are you? I will show you just what I am capable of."
The scarred man let out a vicious laugh, then reached out and tore at the black-dressed woman's robes, evidently intending to vent his frustration on this hateful woman since he could not get to a courtesan.
But in the next instant, both Li Musheng and the hemp-robed elderly man spoke out to stop him at the same time.
"Disgusting."
The little girl in pink snapped this single word, shot both the hemp-robed elderly man and Li Musheng a furious glare, then turned and walked directly out of the hall.
The hemp-robed elderly man made no move to stop her, and instead turned to look at Li Musheng beside him, saying, "If young master wishes for a courtesan, you are welcome to win one over by your own merits. This old one has no intention of yielding any."
Hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at the flock of young women gathered around the hemp-robed elderly man, then wrinkled his brow and shook his head, saying, "No thank you. I am worried about catching something."
At those words, all six courtesans went visibly sour-faced.
The hemp-robed elderly man also blinked, his aged face going through a sequence of expressions, before he narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Musheng, asking, "Then this old one truly does not understand. Why did young master insist earlier on bringing this old one here to book the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion's courtesans?"
Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, saying, "No particular reason. I simply wanted to come to this Hundred Fragrance Pavilion and see just how poisonous this tumor of Falling God Peak's really is."
He had genuinely intended to relax a little here before arriving. But the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion had ended up leaving a thoroughly unpleasant taste in his mouth.
The hemp-robed elderly man's eyes flickered with an unreadable light, and then he sent a quiet transmission, asking thoughtfully, "Is young master perhaps someone from the Great Li court?"
Hearing this, Li Musheng did not deny it, and simply gave a slight nod.
The hemp-robed elderly man immediately straightened up in his seat, and his clouded gaze fixed on Li Musheng, saying, "This old one knew from the start that young master was no ordinary person. This old one bears young master no ill will for dragging him into this matter at the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion."
"But at this moment, there is one extremely important question this old one wishes to put to young master."