95 The Tang Family of Wuchen

After closing the room door, Qin Chuan slowly let the taut strings of his nerves loosen.

He drew a breath at the bridge of his nose and caught a faint trace of incense, though he could not tell what scent it was. It carried a soothing effect, easing the spirit.

He walked to the desk. Three candles in a red-copper candlestick lit the room as brightly as day.

The chamber was quite large, and everything in it had been arranged with meticulous order.

With a turn of his gaze, he saw a paulownia wooden plaque beside a cabinet, bearing a few lines of text. Nothing more than a wish that the guest rest in peace, and that a bell might be rung if service was needed.

Above the plaque hung a row of red cords, each with a small tag attached. Written on them were:

Meals, Wine Tasting, Bathing, Carriage Preparation, and Miscellaneous.

A total of five tags.

Their purposes were obvious at a glance, yet one could see the thought that had gone into them. No wonder the Cloud Between Inn was so popular.

Still, the inn was expensive as well. Had Liu Fengshan not hinted in his jade slip that half of the inn belonged to the Liu family, and that the jade token could secure a discount, he would never have chosen this place.

He went to the low tea table and sat on one of the cushions arranged around it in a circle. At the center of the table sat an incense burner, and beside it, neatly laid out, were the matching fire stones.

He removed his outer robe and reached out to pull down the red cord marked Bathing.

A soft chime rang.

Before long, less than the time needed to drink half a cup of tea, two attendants arrived carrying a large wooden tub and knocked at the door.

What puzzled Qin Chuan was why they did not use storage pouches. Perhaps it was to highlight the completeness of the service?

He only smiled and did not think much of it.

When he opened the door, he saw the attendants set the tub in place. Others carried in bucket after bucket of hot water, quickly filling it to the brim. Bathing cloths, prepared sleepwear, towels, and rose petals scented with incense were all brought in as well.

The two of them swiftly prepared everything and then softly closed the door behind them as they left.

Everything was just like an ordinary mortal inn, with not the slightest trace of a cultivator’s presence.

Qin Chuan had just been about to undress when he saw four young and lovely women enter through the door, each clad only in a sheer white veil.

"We are here to serve you with your bath and change of clothes."

Their voices rose together, soft and sweet as they reached his ears, making his heart give a slight jolt.

"So this is how people in Jade Mat City know how to live," he could not help but sigh.

Looking at the four girls before him, all of whom were rather pleasing in appearance, he suddenly understood why there were so many dissolute young masters in the mortal world. If one lived such a life every day, it was not hard to see why.

He was just about to wave one of the more innocent-looking girls to stay when the hand he had raised froze in midair.

"No need. All of you may leave."

At his words, the girls all answered sweetly and withdrew, turning to open the door and depart. As they left, they could not help but exhale in relief, though whether it was in relief or disappointment, even they could not have said.

Qin Chuan’s fine mood for bathing had dimmed again.

"Liu Fengshan... Liu Fengshan..."

He brushed the petals that had fallen onto his shoulder away and sighed.

...

The Liu Residence.

"How did things go?" Liu Fengshan asked, taking a light sip of tea and exhaling the turbid breath from his lungs.

Below him stood a man who looked like a steward, head lowered and brows respectfully submissive.

"In reply to Young Master Liu, that man did not leave behind any serving maid."

"Oh? Not bad." Liu Fengshan’s tone did not change, but anyone familiar with him would surely catch the pleasure hidden in it.

"In that case, please trouble Steward Ma to arrange the matter I instructed earlier."

"But in that case, the Liu Residence may offend the Gu and Zhang families..." Steward Ma said this while sneaking a glance at the man before him, who was still sipping tea.

"If you have something to say, go on."

"For the sake of an outsider, it does not seem worth it."

"Worth it? Not worth it?" Liu Fengshan gave a soft chuckle. "Old Ma, you have followed me for more than ten years now, haven’t you?"

"Replying to Young Master, it will be twelve years in another two months."

"So it has almost been twelve years already."

Liu Fengshan’s gaze passed over Steward Ma and drifted beyond him, as though it could pierce through the courtyard walls and see the vast world outside.

"It has also been more than a hundred years since the disappearance of the Jade Mat Ancestor."

"Jade Mat Mountain may seem like an iron barrel, but many people have already harbored disloyal thoughts and want to establish their own separate branches. If we do not use some heavy medicine, it cannot be saved."

"Has my Liu family offended the other two houses less than anyone else?"

"What we truly need to do now is not avoid friction with them, but instead win over the rising Tang family. This Qin Chuan is no simple character either."

"Take a look for yourself."

Liu Fengshan took out a jade slip, and with a thread of spiritual energy lifted it gently into Steward Ma’s hands. If Qin Chuan had seen it, he would surely have exclaimed in shock, for this was the rare art of telekinetic control.

"Hundred Peaks Pill Debate, Qin Chuan..."

"This is!"

...

The night passed without incident, and Qin Chuan, rare as it was, did not cultivate. Instead, he slept deeply and comfortably.

The brocade bedding on the bed carried a faint orchid fragrance, as though it had been soaked in some special medicinal liquid.

When he opened his eyes, he found his meridians within him moving far more smoothly, and even his spiritual energy seemed livelier than before.

He had reached the peak of the fifth level of Energy Refinement.

Though he had not cultivated in these past few days, he had constantly urged his spiritual energy into battle against others. That itself was a form of cultivation.

Qin Chuan could clearly feel the bottleneck, as though a shackle had locked him down.

The membrane of light between his lower dantian and middle dantian was especially dense and solid.

Even with preparation, he was still astonished.

He understood well that he was different from others. In energy refinement, he had only two bottlenecks.

One was the usual barrier between Energy Refinement and Acquired Realm. The other was the barrier between Acquired and Innate.

For this reason alone, breaking through was far more difficult for him than for ordinary cultivators. That was also why he was so interested in the technique of seizing a foundation and nourishing vitality, yet showed little enthusiasm for blood pills.

Qin Chuan did not force himself to cultivate all the way to the Innate Realm before attempting Foundation Establishment. Everything would depend on fate, and on whether opportunity might come in the future.

He packed his things, left the room, called for an attendant, and used his jade token to settle the bill.

When the serving boy quoted the price, Qin Chuan could not help but gasp. Though his heart bled, he still took out the spirit stones and paid.

Then he made his way toward Wuchen Hall.

Wuchen Hall was run by the Tang family, and its main business was intelligence.

Qin Chuan put away his jade slip and looked up at the gilded characters above the pavilion facade: Wuchen Hall. He could not help but praise the grandeur of it.

A young attendant was sweeping the front steps, paying no mind at all to Qin Chuan as he entered the pavilion wearing a bamboo hat.

Inside, the place was exceedingly quiet. Only a few people were present, all sipping tea as though waiting for something.

Qin Chuan saw that they were either wearing hoods or bamboo hats, and knew they were not the ones in charge, so he paid them no attention. He simply found a seat and sat down calmly.

But the items on the tea table beside him were not the usual cups and leaves.

Just as Qin Chuan was feeling somewhat bewildered, not knowing how this tea was meant to be drunk, two people emerged from the inner hall, one old and one young, a man and a woman.

The old man was gaunt, with a goatee. The woman had a lovely face and wore a pale green pleated skirt.

When Qin Chuan saw her, he paused slightly. She bore a striking resemblance to Tang Xinling, at least seventy percent similar, so much so that he nearly mistook her for the same person. Fortunately, hidden beneath his bamboo hat, no one noticed his reaction.

"Old Master Tang."

"Old Master..."

Many of those seated rose to salute him, while the others seemed, like Qin Chuan, to be here for the first time. Seeing this, they too stood and bowed.

"Please, all young friends, be seated," the old man said with a light laugh.

He nodded slightly to the woman beside him, and the two sat calmly in the honored seats above. No one in the hall exchanged pleasantries, and for a moment the atmosphere was rather subdued.

"As usual today, let us drink the Wuchen Tea first," the old man said.

Qin Chuan was taken aback. He had come to sell information, so why was he being made to taste tea first? He frowned, not understanding the hidden reason behind it.

However, the others had already begun to drink. Only a few, seemingly like him, were here for the first time and had made no move.

Once the others had swallowed their tea and shown no strange reaction, he finally lifted his hand.

Qin Chuan looked at this unusual "tea" with curiosity.

What rested on the table was not truly a cup or leaves, but several olive-shaped blue-green seeds, each about the size of a thumb. When held in the palm and sniffed, they gave off a faint earthy odor.

He copied the others and held the seed in his palm. With a movement of thought, spiritual energy slowly poured into it.

Before long, a little sprout with twin orchid leaves broke through the seed coat and emerged. As the spiritual energy continued to flow in, the sprout quickly turned into a jade-green vine that clung to his hand and climbed up along his right arm until it reached his shoulder, where it finally stopped.

At the vine’s tip was a tender flower bud, shaped like a teacup, extending all the way to his lips.

Looking closely, the liquid within the bud was clear as crystal and faintly carried a trace of subtle fragrance. Seeing this, Qin Chuan did not hesitate and drank it down in a few gulps.

The instant the last drop was swallowed, the vine withered at once, drying up and vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving not even a wisp of dust behind.

Qin Chuan found this astonishing, but before he could speak, he felt a sweetness in his throat, followed by a warm sensation spreading through his organs.

"Bitter?"

At that moment, a man seated directly opposite Qin Chuan spoke up. Unlike the others, the vine in his hand vanished very slowly.

Among those seated, the same was largely true: either the vine withered extremely quickly, or it withered extremely slowly.

"Heh."

"Seeing that everyone has almost finished tasting the tea, those who think this is sweet tea should follow this old man into the inner hall. The rest may remain with Huaiyi."

Qin Chuan’s expression turned rather strange, but he soon understood.

Wuchen Hall dealt in intelligence. The people who came here were either sellers of information, like himself, or those seeking it.

He muttered inwardly that there were far too many theatrics, always with all this mystery. Why not just say it plainly?

There were more than ten people entering the inner hall together with Qin Chuan. Some had deep, unreadable auras. Others had low cultivation and no means of concealing it, so their level could be seen at a glance.

After entering the inner hall and before anyone had even warmed their seats, the old man spoke.

"Your arrival truly brings splendor to our humble Wuchen Hall."

"Old man Tang is my surname. I am a few years older than all of you young friends. If you do not mind, you may call me Old Tang."

Aside from the old man speaking, the rest remained silent.

"In order to ensure that none of your information leaks out, this old man will make a small display of skill. It will not harm any of you young friends, so I hope you will not overreact."

As soon as he finished speaking, without further delay, he formed a hand seal. A streak of spiritual light shot from his palm and struck the incense burner at the center of the inner hall.

At once, white vapor surged forth. In a matter of ten breaths, it had turned into a dense mist that shrouded the entire inner hall.