Chapter 371: Performance
After Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan walked into the pleasure den, two swordsn following far behind them stopped in front of the establishnt and peered inside.
“They entered this place?” One of the swordsn rubbed his nose as he turned to the man beside him. “Even if we combined our spirit crystals, we wouldn’t even be able to pay the entrance fee. What should we do?”
“Stay here and keep guard over the entrance. I’ll report back to the young master and see if I can get him to scrounge up so spirit crystals for us. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to stay the night here...”
“Eh? Alright, but you’d better co back quick!”
Swordflight was forbidden in Peak Darkness, so the swordsman began running back to the inn where the Pi delegation was staying. The two swordsn had been sent by Pi Batian to keep watch over Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan. Although Pi Yan didn’t find Yun Ruoyan’s disguise suspicious, Pi Batian kept feeling as though sothing was amiss, so he had secretly dispatched the two n to keep an eye out for them.
“Young Master.” The swordsman found Pi Batian and reported back to him, “Li Mo and Madam Shade entered a pleasure den together.”
“Was there anything suspicious about their behavior?” Pi Batian asked.
“They seed to be walking through the streets normally, but they entered a pleasure den. We didn’t have enough money to enter, so we could only wait outside and guard the entrance.”
Pi Batian peered at the swordsman. Li Mo doesn’t look like the type of person who would engage in such carnal pleasures, but... He was suddenly struck by interest. Standing up, he announced to the man, “Lead the way. It’s been too long since I’ve let loose.”
“Sir, this must be your first ti coming here! I don’t recognize your face.” The mont Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan entered the pleasure den, an old madam draped in a decadent robe stepped up to greet them. She slled of an odd fragrance and was a little younger and more attractive than those in similar positions on the Chenyuan continent, but was otherwise the sa.
Without speaking, Li Mo retrieved a pouch from his hands and held it in front of the old madam, whose eyes glead as she took it over. “Sir, please enter, ah, and this woman...”
“She’s my friend,” Li Mo replied.
“Oh!” The old madam’s lips stretched in a smile. “Anyone with spirit crystals will find sothing for them here at our pleasure den. May I ask what sorts of pleasures you’re interested in?”
“What choices are there?”
“If you’re interested in carnal pleasures, we have a selection of beautiful won and handso lads that you may both choose from, honored guests. If you’re interested in gambling, please head to the right.” The old madam’s eyes shifted from Li Mo to Yun Ruoyan.
“Gambling,” Li Mo gritted out.
Yun Ruoyan had to stifle a laugh when she saw Li Mo trying to hide his awkwardness. They were directed toward a side hall: only a wall separated won in rouge from loud bellows as n gambled their fortunes away.
One of the loudest voices was from Feng Yicheng. Yun Ruoyan noticed him imdiately amidst a crowd of people; though he was still dressed as richly as ever, his warm and affable temperant had undergone a dramatic transformation.
His upper half body was almost leading entirely on the gambling table, his sleeves rolled up high. One hand clutched a handful of dice, and the other supported his body against the table. His face was red as he hollered his bets.
Yun Ruoyan’s eyes opened wide.
“Well? I’m sure that’s what Pi Yan and Pi Batian are hoping to see.” It was Li Mo’s turn to hide a smile.
He walked around the various tables, Yun Ruoyan following a respectable distance behind him. Although the gambling den was crowded and full of drunken, rambunctious n, she noticed a number of Feng swordsn keeping guard, their auras fully released. With these n keeping the peace, no one dared stray too far out of line.
Feng Yicheng had noticed Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo the mont they entered the gambling den. His gaze swept past the two of them, slightly narrowed as he took in Li Mo’s presence, then turned back to his dice.
“That man’s won so much after just two hours? Isn’t the manager of the gambling den going to co out and “greet” him a little?” soone murmured from Yun Ruoyan’s side.
Although Yun Ruoyan had never been in a gambling den, she had been Pei Ziao’s wife in her previous life. The Pei family operated both an armory and a gambling den, so Yun Ruoyan had had to beco at least superficially familiar with the logistics. Anyone who won too large a fortune would be summarily dealt with by experts, until all those winnings were swept back into the house.
“You might not know,” soone else replied, “but this young master’s a rising star in the Feng family. Apparently, he’ll be the representative of the Feng family in the seven cities’ tournant. Peak Darkness is under the Feng family’s jurisdiction, so he’s just winning money from his own employer!”
“Ah, is that so? But to think that their representative would be so... invested in gambling...”
Li Mo then headed back to the other side of the pleasure den with Yun Ruoyan, both of them following behind Feng Yicheng. At the sa ti, many of the original gamblers also followed Feng Yicheng over, and the brothel side of the pleasure den suddenly beca far more crowded.
Li Mo found the old madam, handed over another bag of spirit crystals, and was quickly escorted to a suite on the second floor, where Feng Yicheng was already present. A smiling woman was cradled in his arms, and even Yun Ruoyan was unable to reconcile his current image with that of the kind and courteous young master she recalled seeing.
“No wonder the Feng family sent him to train and manage the courtesan troupe,” she murmured. “He’s definitely up to the task.”
“He’s certainly soone worth keeping an eye on,” Li Mo comnted.
“The slave auction shall now comnce!” With a shout, the crowd’s murmurs and conversations instantly died down.
“Yan’er,” Li Mo whispered, “you’ll see the darkness in Peak Darkness now.”
The crowd’s gaze was quickly drawn to the stage, where wagon after wagon was being paraded out.
“There are male and female slaves available for auction today,” a pale, sticklike man with a reedy voice introduced. “Custors, honored guests, please observe them well. These slaves can be used either for sexual pleasure or nial labor, and I’m sure you’ll find sothing to satisfy your every need.”
His voice was infused with spiritual energy, and the reedy voice sent shivers down Yun Ruoyan’s spine. He held a long pole in his hand, one which he used to unfurl the black fabric that had been thrown over the first cage to obscure it. Within the cage were three won clad in beast pelts. They seed to have been kept in darkness for quite so ti, because when the black fabric was removed, they instinctively shielded their eyes from the bright light.
“Won from the beast tribes of the lower realms! A hundred spirit crystals for each one. Their bodies are to die for, and they’ll surely give you boundless pleasure in bed.
All sorts of lechers were gathered right by the stage, leering at the scantily clad won in the cage. They were undoubtedly from the sa group of cultivators as Xue Ji, but had clearly been separated during the tussle that had ensued shortly after the lower-realm cultivators had arrived on the Mingyuan continent. Xue Ji’s group of twenty had all died at the Pi spirit crystal vein, and the sage-grade spirit crystal that they had given their lives to obtain was now in Yun Ruoyan’s silver bracelet.
She couldn’t help wanting to save the three won.
“Li Mo, those cultivators in beast pelts have done a significant favor. Is it possible for us to save the three won?”
Li Mo frowned. “We can’t buy them outright, but after the auction’s over, I’ll try to work sothing out with the head of the Feng family. This is his territory, after all, so they should have so options for dealing with it.”
The three won looked quite young. Who knew what would happen to them by the ti Li Mo talked with the Feng family head? Yun Ruoyan could only sigh.
In the end, they were all bought by a corpulent middle-aged man for five hundred spirit crystals.
The second cage contained three n whom Yun Ruoyan didn’t recognize, and they were purchased by a rough-looking cultivator whose gender she couldn’t determine.
Feng Yicheng, who sat opposite them, had been flirting with the two prostitutes by his side for the entire duration of the auction. Li Mo sat with his spine straight, glancing on stage as seriously as if he were in court. Yun Ruoyan stood silently behind Li Mo, unable to pay attention to what was going on on stage.
“Yan’er, look at the suite on the left,” Li Mo suddenly whispered.
Yun Ruoyan turned to the left, where she saw a familiar silhouette quickly hidden behind a folding screen. “It’s Pi Batian!”
“Right,” Li Mo said. “He’ll be able to see Feng Yicheng’s act for himself.”
“Next up, female slaves from the Chenyuan continent, a lower realm! The won of the Chenyuan continent are known for being petite and gentle in temperant. They’re excellent choices for warming your bed, and each one will start off with a price of one hundred and fifty spirit crystals!” the pale man yelled, unfurling the black fabric covering the cage with his long pole.
Li Mo’s body turned rigid, and Yun Ruoyan couldn’t help taking a step forward. The slaves that were revealed were people that Li Mo and Yun Ruoyan were intimately familiar with...
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