Chapter 369 - 173: Courted by Various Guilds, In High Demand, a Mysterious Old Man, the Purple Mist School, Ascending Golden Turtle Island

Chapter 369: Chapter 173: Courted by Various Guilds, In High Demand, a Mysterious Old Man, the Purple Mist School, Ascending Golden Turtle Island

「The next day. The Gourmet Pavilion.」

Inside a lavishly decorated private room.

"You truly are my brother from another mother, Zhao Jiu! Beautifully done!"

"So what if they’re from Noble Clans or prodigies of the Prefecture?"

"I said it before! With Brother Ji’s talent, it only took him half a year to make it to the Prefecture City. Just give him time, and no matter what prodigy comes along, they’ll be completely outshined by him!"

"And how long has it been since then?"

"Sure enough, I was right!"

Dressed in fine brocade, Zhao Jiu was beaming today. He had spent a fortune at the Gourmet Pavilion, arranging a banquet that cost well over a hundred taels of Red Gold and even included a Sixth-Grade Spiritual Cuisine, one of the famed Jianghuai Eight Wonders.

Zhao Jiu raised his cup to Ji Xiu, the guest of honor, and began to lavish him with praise.

There was a time, back when he was the County Magistrate of Anning County, that Zhao Jiu’s pleasant demeanor toward Ji Xiu was ninety-nine percent due to Duan Chenzhou.

He was afraid that Duan Chenzhou would cut his head off because of the bad blood between him and the Wine Shop from years past.

After all, the eight hundred leagues of Anning County were a poor, remote backwater with no Qi Cultivation Grandmasters. If Duan the Brute went berserk, Zhao Jiu had no way to stop him.

Therefore, having no other choice and fearing for his life, Zhao Jiu had done his utmost to win over Ji Xiu.

But ever since Ji Xiu survived the ordeal of Summoning Spirits and Manifesting Saints and joined forces with him to eliminate Huang Xiuwen of the Medicine Shop’s Huang Family in the Canglan River, their rapport had grown rapidly.

Over time, their bond strengthened. Furthermore, ever since Ji Xiu had arrived in the Prefecture City, he had been repeatedly targeted because of old grievances.

When Ji Xiu was being attacked from all sides and framed, before he had managed to turn things around, Zhao Jiu had ignored his family’s objections and stepped forward to support him. It was truly a case of providing timely help.

And the result was, naturally, gratifying.

And now, not long after, this good brother of his—the one who had risen to the top in Anning County in just half a year—had challenged the Daoist School, gained favor with the Marquis’s Mansion, entered the Mansion Courtyard, and become its Leader...

Not only that, but various influential figures in the Prefecture City had repeatedly shown him great favor!

Prefecture Commander Gu Baichuan, the Marquis’s Legitimate Daughter Xiao Mingli, Jiangyin Institute Chief Pei Daoran... With so many powerful backers, even though Ji Xiu was still hated by the Daoist School and targeted by the Grand Lineage, his situation was completely different from before!

This also indirectly proved that his, Zhao Jiu’s, eye for investment was absolutely flawless.

And when word got out that Ji Xiu had become the Head of the Mansion and Court, donned the Immortal Robe, and was a once-in-three-hundred-years talent who had reached the very top of the Climbing Martial Arts Tower...

...his father, Wine Master Zhao Ding, did a complete one-eighty. His whole attitude changed, and he immediately summoned back this "rebellious son" he’d been threatening to kick out of the family.

This time, not only had his father sobered up, but he also spoke pleasantly, telling him to find ways to curry favor with this prodigy and that all related expenses could be drawn from the family treasury.

’Seriously, he was treating his own brother to a meal. Why would he save his old man’s money?’

’Of course he had to come to a place where those other profligates he used to carouse with couldn’t even afford to set foot, and really splurge for once!’

"Master Jiu is most generous."

Ji Xiu lifted the jade cup before him and accepted with a smile. He glanced at the series of exquisitely plated dishes and thought to himself, ’He really spared no expense for this welcome-back feast.’

Previously, by leveraging the power of the Beicang Marquis’s Mansion and with Granny Shi by his side, Ji Xiu had gone to the Fisherman Mansion and forced its Lineage Master, Chen Jing, to swallow his pride and treat him to a banquet at this very Gourmet Pavilion.

Zhao Jiu was merely the legitimate son of the Wine Shop; his status was no match for that of Chen Jing, a Great Lineage Master.

But even if this spread couldn’t compare to Chen Jing’s, which had featured two Sixth-Grade Spiritual Cuisines from the Jianghuai Eight Wonders, it still must have cost at least several dozen taels of Red Gold.

In a poor place like Anning County, where there was no Spiritual Mechanism, the profits Zhao Jiu could squeeze out as County Magistrate were limited. Now that he had been stripped of his official position, where did he get so much money?

As he marveled at this inwardly...

"Don’t worry, brother, eat up! If it’s not enough, we’ll order more. Your big brother’s purse is plenty full today!"

"That old man of mine is a terrible judge of character, completely muddle-headed. I was young and foolish before, but now I finally understand why your Master became an enemy of my family."

"All he thinks about is adding flowers to the brocade instead of sending charcoal in a snowstorm. How could he ever accomplish anything great?"

"So today, I’m using his money to celebrate properly with my brother!"

As if reading Ji Xiu’s mind, Zhao Jiu put on a magnanimous air and declared with a grand wave of his hand,

"Everyone, the same goes for all of you."

"We all knew each other back in Anning County. Now that we’re back home, we can’t let our relationships grow distant..."

At that moment, besides Zhao Jiu and Ji Xiu, the private room also held Di Yuan of the Post House, Cai Ling’Er of the Jade Shop, and Ye Ningzhi of the Embroidery Lineage.

Among the five of them, Di Yuan was the only one brought by Zhao Jiu with Ji Xiu’s knowledge; he had made repeated, earnest attempts to visit and fete Ji Xiu.

The other two women were close friends, so the atmosphere in the room was harmonious and relaxed. Seeing Zhao Jiu’s grandstanding, Cai Ling’Er recalled the comfortable life he had led in Anning County and couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"It’s easy to be free with someone else’s money. Brother Zhao Jiu is squandering his father’s fortune, and we’re all getting to enjoy the benefits."

After speaking, she picked up a piece of translucent dried jade bamboo with her chopsticks, opened her mouth delicately, and chewed with a look of pure satisfaction.

Cai Ling’Er mused to herself that ever since she had met Ji Xiu, she had suffered her fair share of silent losses and put in no small amount of effort to help him, yet she had never gotten a single benefit out of it.