Chapter 20

Standing at the entrance of the怡红院 (Yihong Courtyard), Qi Feng suppressed his chaotic and lascivious thoughts after much deliberation and turned to leave. Whether his willpower was strong enough was another matter, but entering a brothel without a single coin in his pocket would just invite a beating.

Strolling along the street, he noticed there were quite a few shops, but he didn't go in to take a closer look. It took him quite a while just to read all the shop signs. These signs were marked with place names from all over the country, yet the road was deserted, quiet like a ghost town. He couldn't hear any sounds from inside the shops, not even the loud noise of a blacksmith's hammer.

After considering everything, Qi Feng concluded that the street he was on was likely a subspace area that connected all the shops in the game. Well, that was just his hypothesis.

After a round of wandering, he returned to the Suzhou blacksmith's shop and the pharmacy he had visited earlier. Qi Feng noticed a Suzhou inn nearby. He decided to go in and check it out, thinking there might be more people inside, which would help verify his earlier hypothesis.

Pushing the door open, it was bustling inside! The Yuelai Inn in the game wasn't small, but this one was several times larger. The front hall on the first floor had over a dozen large tables, and there were private rooms upstairs. There were many guests, almost filling the entire front hall.

Despite the crowd, the waiter was efficient. Seeing Qi Feng enter, he immediately greeted him: "Sir, please come in!" He bowed and gestured for Qi Feng to take a seat.

Qi Feng, penniless, thought, "Should I sit down and eat for free?" He waved his hand and said, "No need, I'm meeting a friend. I'll find him myself."

The waiter replied, "Sir, please do as you wish! I apologize for the inconvenience." He then hurried to serve the next table.

Feeling a bit awkward about wandering around the front hall, Qi Feng walked straight in. He almost bumped into someone and looked up to see a man in a Taoist robe holding a white banner with the words "Iron Mouth, Direct Judgment" written on it.

This fortune-teller was quite business-savvy. Seeing Qi Feng, he immediately blocked his path and started pitching: "I am Iron Mouth, Direct Judgment. If I'm not accurate, you don't pay. Young man, would you like a reading?"

Qi Feng laughed. He never believed in such charlatans. "Why don't you tell me where I come from and where I'm going? If you're right, I'll pay."

The fortune-teller stared at Qi Feng's face for a while, then pinched his fingers and frowned for a long time before shaking his head and sighing, "Strange, strange. I can't read your destiny, young brother!"

Qi Feng laughed, "Well, that's a problem. But you're honest, at least. Most fortune-tellers would try to bluff their way through, hoping to get lucky and make a sale."

The fortune-teller shook his head, "I practice the art of reading auras. Your destiny is not within the three realms, you are truly an extraordinary person. However, don't mock me. Though I can't read your destiny, I just calculated that you don't have a single coin on you."

Qi Feng was speechless. Was this guy really skilled? Just as he was about to ask more, the fortune-teller ignored him and went to solicit other customers. "He could tell I'm not in the three realms? No wonder he's a fortune-teller in the game, he's not just a common charlatan."

As Qi Feng was marveling, a commotion erupted behind him: "A toad wants to eat a swan!" "Beat him up!" It seemed a group of people had started fighting.

"What's going on now?" Qi Feng, curious, pushed through the crowd to the front. He saw three burly men beating up a scholar.

Seeing the three men hitting the scholar mercilessly, and the scholar looking weak and helpless, Qi Feng couldn't help but shout, "Hey, stop! You'll kill him!" He reached out to pull them apart.

Suddenly, one of the men turned and punched Qi Feng. Startled, Qi Feng instinctively punched back, using at least 70-80% of his strength. With the Dragon Elephant Bodhi Power at the first level, his punch had the force of a dragon and an elephant, several hundred pounds. The man, not a skilled fighter, was sent flying, crashing into a row of tables.

"Brat, you're asking for it?!" The other two men abandoned the scholar and charged at Qi Feng, one with a large nine-ring saber, the other with a meteor hammer.

Qi Feng, knowing only internal martial arts and no specific techniques, quickly dodged and grabbed a nearby table, lifting it and throwing it at the two men.

The heavy wooden table, weighing over a hundred pounds, came at them with a thunderous force, scaring them witless. They scrambled to dodge. The two men, intimidated by Qi Feng's immense strength, hesitated to approach. The man who had been thrown earlier returned, trembling, and threw several plum blossom darts.

Qi Feng, with his heightened senses, quickly dodged behind another table, pushing it over to block the darts. He thought, "Using darts? If I had enough silver, I'd give you each a dose of Ice Soul Silver Needles!"

Seeing an opportunity, the other two men approached Qi Feng from either side.

"Stop hurting people!" At that moment, Qi Feng heard a clear voice. Turning, he saw a teenage boy and a girl with two braids in an ancient style rushing over.

"Watch my sword!" The boy deflected the man's saber with his sword, advancing straight for his throat. The man quickly retreated, but the boy's sword suddenly flew out of his hand and pierced the man's right shoulder. The man grunted in pain, dropped his saber, and fell to the ground. The sword flew back to the boy's hand.

" Sword Control Technique!" Several people in the crowd exclaimed in amazement. The girl, taking advantage of the men's momentary confusion, cast two lightning bolts, turning the two men's hair into afros and causing them to fall to the ground, twitching.

"Daoist Immortal Techniques!" The crowd was shocked again. Though young, these two were clearly skilled and of significant background. The crowd dispersed, knowing the fight was over and there was no more spectacle to see.

Qi Feng, still crouching behind the table, was overwhelmed with excitement. He finally understood what new map he had opened! When they entered, he recognized the boy and girl immediately! Seeing their techniques, he knew—they were Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er! Turning to look at the scholar still groaning on the ground, he realized it was Liu Jin yuan.

"Ouch... saved..." Liu Jin yuan finally got up, smiling. Qi Feng laughed, noting that the boy had protected his face well, despite the beating.

Liu Jin yuan thanked his three rescuers and asked the waiter to open a private room upstairs to treat them to drinks. Li Xiaoyao happily agreed, but Qi Feng, thinking he had been busy enough, decided to return to his dorm. Before leaving, he took a good look at Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er.

"Hmm, this Li Xiaoyao is younger than the one on TV. Though he's a bit of a loafer, he doesn't seem sleazy, and he's quite handsome! Zhao Ling'er looks like a little fairy, even more vibrant than on TV."

The two were a bit confused by Qi Feng's intense gaze. Suddenly, Qi Feng took out his phone and handed it to Liu Jin yuan, "Here, press this button for me!" He then squeezed between the two, putting his arms around their shoulders, and couldn't resist making a silly V sign, "Hey, take a picture!"

Liu Jin yuan, surprised by the strange device, finally reacted, "Oh, oh! Okay!" Click! The flash startled Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er.

Qi Feng took the phone back and looked at the picture, patting Liu Jin yuan on the shoulder, "Not bad! Good job! For your first time with a camera, you have a real talent!"

Liu Jin yuan, though confused, humbly replied, "Thank you, sir..."

Qi Feng laughed, bowed to the three, "May the green mountains remain and the clear waters flow. Until we meet again!" He then quickly left the inn.

Zhao Ling'er, blushing from the sudden embrace, said, "Xiaoyao, that man was strange."

Li Xiaoyao was also puzzled, "Maybe that's just how people in Suzhou are..."

...

After leaving the inn, Qi Feng didn't immediately return to the real world. Instead, he ran to a shop he had seen earlier: the Dali Insect Shop.

Pushing the door open, the shop was small, and a beautiful woman in Miao ethnic attire stood behind the counter.

"Quick, quick, show me the inventory!" Qi Feng was eager.

The woman smiled and handed him the inventory. Qi Feng quickly flipped through it: "Insects, 100 coins. Useless, I can't even raise them. Spirit Worms, 800 coins. Blood Silk Worms, 800 coins..."

Flipping further, Qi Feng's heart leaped, "Golden Insect King, 9,000 coins!" That's it!

The shopkeeper, seeing Qi Feng's expression, smiled, "Sir, you're interested in this. The Golden Insect King, also known as the Golden Silk King, is not something ordinary insect raisers can cultivate. It was personally raised by our White Miao Holy Maiden."

Oh, it was the Holy Maiden, the old lady. Makes sense, if anyone in the White Miao could raise this, they would be invincible.

No more talk! Time to get some coins! 9,000 coins for a Golden Silk King, what a deal! If he could buy a hundred or so and eat them all, he'd be invincible!

Qi Feng couldn't help but laugh at the thought. He put down the inventory and left, determined to get the money and buy the goods.