Chapter 153 - 148: Eve of the Hundred Flowers Assembly

Chapter 153: Chapter 148: Eve of the Hundred Flowers Assembly

In Li Liang City.

The fact that Li Heng had taken a job as a butcher of Silver Thread Flying Fish on the fourth floor of Qingfeng Tower caused no stir whatsoever.

The next day, Li Heng had an hour-long break after dinner, which he used to hurry back to the Scholars’ Association Hall. The other scholars had nothing to say about his job as a butcher; their attitudes remained unchanged.

Perhaps for ordinary people, a pecking order exists between professions. Among Soul Masters, however, any career choice was respected—as long as it was among peers of the same realm, of course.

Li Heng arrived in the evening. The moment the manager of the third floor of the Scholars’ Association Hall saw him, he took out the Wolf Bone Brush and returned it to Li Heng, completely intact.

"Zhou Hua had to submit the *Demonic Sound Heart Sutra*, so he asked me to return the Wolf Bone Brush to you, Brother Li Heng. Please give it a look."

"Thank you for the trouble."

With the System at his disposal, Li Heng only needed a single glance to scan all its information. There were no problems, so he put it away directly and without fuss.

Seeing how straightforward and polite Li Heng was, and how he even seemed unconcerned, the third-floor manager’s estimation of him rose. He seized the opportunity to add a few words.

"Brother Li Heng. This Wolf Bone Brush of yours must be a masterpiece, wouldn’t you say? We were blind before. The finished copy of the *Demonic Sound Heart Sutra* that Zhou Hua wrote has a fully developed ferocity! If I’m not mistaken, the main material for this Wolf Bone Brush of yours probably came from a Blood Wolf King!"

’A heavily injured Blood Wolf King... is still a Blood Wolf King, I suppose. Besides, this was a system reward from clearing a dungeon. As for whether the main material really came from a Blood Wolf King, the system never specified, so I’m not entirely sure either.’

However, there was no need to explain any of this. He just maintained a polite demeanor with the manager and said he wasn’t really sure.

"If you’re interested, Brother Li Heng, you could take this Wolf Bone Brush to Moon-Picking Tower for a proper appraisal. If it really is made from Blood Wolf King material, both its writing strength and the probability of it imbuing ferocity will be multiplied! Of course, if you’re not interested, just consider my words the drunken babbling of a fool. I’ll drink this cup first as a preemptive apology."

"You’re too kind!"

Although Li Heng wasn’t sure if the man’s politeness was genuine or just for show, the man had observed the proper etiquette. So, Li Heng naturally picked up a wine cup and downed it in one go.

Having retrieved his Wolf Bone Brush, Li Heng took his leave. After all, he still had a night shift to work at Qingfeng Tower.

The nighttime scenery of Li Liang City had a completely different flavor compared to the daytime.

Li Heng had originally thought Li Liang City might have a curfew at night, but the streets were still brightly lit. The only difference was that the daytime street vendors had been replaced by a new group of people.

At the same time, Li Heng noticed that while there were many people on the streets, most were heading toward Snow Feather Tower and Qingfeng Tower. The influence of the two great establishments was not limited to the daytime.

Perhaps due to the influence of Snow Feather Tower’s Hundred Flowers Assembly, women in historical-style clothing, whom Li Heng hadn’t seen during the day, were now out in droves at night.

Although they were in historical attire, their style was quite bold. Their ample bosoms were half-exposed, and not only did their faces show no trace of shyness, but their eyes held a seductive allure.

Moreover, beside one or two of these women, there was always a portly, middle-aged man. His face was expressionless, as if the two words "I’m rich" were written right on it.

’Maybe ancient nightlife was even richer than it is for modern people... No... perhaps for the wealthy, this *is* nightlife. For a poor guy like me, the night is just for working overtime!’

Li Heng sighed inwardly, but his gaze didn’t linger on the group for long. A few glances were enough. If he kept staring, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold back.

He had always stuck to his principles. He was grinding legitimate dungeons and had no desire to get mixed up in anything risqué. Besides, compared to all that messy stuff, Li Heng cared more about Soul Qi Points.

Therefore, for the next few days, Li Heng stayed inside Qingfeng Tower. He even volunteered for overtime, arriving earliest in the kitchen during the day and leaving latest at night.

On average, he butchered ten Silver Thread Flying Fish each day. Because his performance was so excellent, he was occasionally asked to butcher other types of fish as well.

As a result, he earned around 3,700 Soul Qi Points a day. Over these few days, Li Heng had harvested a total of over thirteen thousand Soul Qi Points. Adding his original three thousand, he now had 16,000 Soul Qi Points.

Putting everything else aside, Li Heng was quite satisfied with this harvest alone. After all, at Meteor University, he could only enter two dungeons: the Ancient Dust Continent and the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain.

It wasn’t so easy to gain this many Soul Qi Points from a single run in a Divine-level dungeon.

Interestingly, during Li Heng’s time at Qingfeng Tower, a customer found that the texture of the Silver Thread Flying Fish was much better than before. Curious, they asked for the reason.

Upon learning that the butcher for the Silver Thread Flying Fish had been replaced by a scholar who used a longsword, the customer generously gave a hefty tip and commented that Li Heng’s swordsmanship was excellent.

Li Heng just smiled at this, accepting the praise. He didn’t pay much mind to the tip, since his only real goal was earning Soul Qi Points.

On the afternoon of his last day, Li Heng bid farewell to the steward, thanking him for his care over the past few days. The steward was very straightforward about Li Heng’s departure. Not only did he exchange some pleasantries, but before Li Heng left, he also gave him an extra one hundred Soul Crystal Coins.

Li Heng was polite, and Qingfeng Tower knew how to do business. They told Li Heng that if he wanted to come to Qingfeng Tower again in the future, whether as a "host" or a guest, their doors would always be open to welcome him.

Of course, being a "host" naturally meant entering the kitchen to continue his previous work, but Li Heng found Qingfeng Tower’s way of putting it very pleasant to hear.

As he left Qingfeng Tower and walked to the entrance, the three words Li Heng heard most often were "Hundred Flowers Assembly"!

The Hundred Flowers Assembly!

It was, without a doubt, the liveliest festival in Li Liang City, and also the liveliest festival for hundreds of miles around.

It was only afternoon, but Li Liang City had already taken on a new look.

Since yesterday, all the shops in Li Liang City, large and small, had been hanging red lanterns. Today, in addition to the lanterns, there was a new type of plant called a "Floating Flower" hovering above the roads.

Floating Flowers had no practical use; they were merely for decoration, pretty to look at and pleasant to smell. They came in various colors, decorating the entire Li Liang City in a "luxurious" fashion.

This was especially true for the road leading to Snow Feather Tower. Above the street, rows of golden Floating Flowers were arranged, pointing straight toward Snow Feather Tower’s sign.

’Damn... talk about a grand display.’

Besides the red lanterns and Floating Flowers, Li Heng also saw Flying Soul Beasts streaking across the sky, one after another, right before his eyes.

Rocs!

Phoenixes!

Flood Dragons!

Auspicious Cloud Qilins!

...

With every shadow that flashed past his eyes, Li Heng stared blankly at the information provided by the system. All the shadows had but one destination—Snow Feather Tower!

There was still some time until evening, but the entire city of Li Liang was already filled with the sights and sounds of festivity. Li Heng gazed into the distance at Snow Feather Tower, its tall pavilions glittering splendidly under the adornment of the golden Floating Flowers.