Chapter 334 Being Rich
"Unbelievable."
Because of Gan Ning's ceaseless pestering, they visited one of the city's taverns and had a drinking party among themselves. Gan Ning even ordered the tavern owner to call an entertain-girls to accompany them tonight.
However, Gan Ning was dead drunk after he had the local specialty, the Horn Sheep Vodka, which had been made using Horn Sheep's blood as one of the ingredients.
The blood of these horn sheep contained a strand of water, blood, wood, and earth element Qi, which could easily kill any cultivator who hadn't mastered the elements. Yet, Gan Ning downed five bottles of HSV without showing any symptoms, except for the intoxicating effect.
Now, Gan Ning had collapsed on the table in front of the called ladies. He drooled and snored as if he had the best sleep in his life.
"You're unbelievable, young master Cao. Gan Xingba is a regular here, and he has never lost in a drinking competition. This is his first defeat!"
The two call-girls, which had been bought by Gan Ning, looked at Miaomiao in astonishment and awe. The latter had also drunk five bottles of Horn Sheep Vodka, but he looked sober.
"Haiz."
Miaomiao couldn't tell them that he could store any type of elemental Qi in his second dantian without a repercussion – No element Qi in this world could harm him.
He sighed and finished the remaining content in the last bottles before he carried Gan Ning to the booked room of this tavern.
"Can you girls guide me to his room? I need to drop this idiot."
"Oh sure."
One of the girls worked in the bar. She guided Miaomiao to the double room, which they had booked when they had arrived several hours ago.
This room had nothing other than a blank room with two cotton mattresses since the rent was dirt cheap, only one spirit stone a night.
Miaomiao threw Gan Ning to the mattress next to the window. As for him, he dragged another mattress to the opposite side of the room, so he could rest.
However, the two call-girls had not left. They closed the doors and undressed.
"Young Master, you seem rich. You even paid for the drinks. How about we entertain you tonight?"
Miaomiao frowned. He had planned to enter ITS, so he could summon his wives to brief them about his current situation. As such, he was not in the mood for sex, especially doing it with average-looking local prostitutes.
Both call-girls were weak muscle tempering realm cultivators, and their age seemed to be over 30. They wore thick makeup, dense perfume, and unnecessary fake tattoos on their bosoms. Their look was so-so by Miaomiao's standard, so he wasn't interested in them.
"I'm not in the mood. You can leave."
"What!?"
The girls were taken aback since their service fees had already been paid in advance, but this man chased them away.
Although they were offended, they put on their clothes and left in peace. Nobody hated easy money.
Miaomiao didn't care that he had wasted a couple refined stones to pay for the girls since money was never a problem to him. Sometimes, he even questioned in his mind why the local population had been struggling with money when essence cores and refined stones were so easy to get.
After the girls were gone, Miaomiao sat cross-leg and meditated. He fell asleep sitting.
…
4 AM of the next day, Miaomiao woke up. He stretched and stood up, refreshed after he had an orgy fest with his beautiful wives in Isolation Training Space for several hundred hours.
Lately, Miaomiao couldn't get an erection when he was with other girls other than his yin slaves. He didn't know how he developed this trait, but he was proud of it.
Now, Miaomiao planned to brag to Ma Moxi and his beast friends in Siren City that he was an honest husband who never cheated his WIVES, except for when he made a new potential wife, such as Dandan.
"Oh, you're up."
Upon seeing that Miaomiao had woken up, Gan Ning opened his eyes and sprang himself off the cotton mattress. He had already sobered a few hours ago.
"I thought you would be up in the afternoon. Have you sobered?" Miaomiao had a wry smile on his face. He had thought that Gan Ning wouldn't recover until tomorrow, but this guy had already dealt with the toxic in his bloodstream.
"Duh! That was nothing. By the way, where are the girls? I haven't screwed them yet."
"I sent them home."
"You what!? Did you bang them and send them away already?"
"Nah, I don't feel like it. I didn't fuck them."
"What a waste, dude! At least, you should have let them sleep here, so I could have fucked them later."
"How the fuck would I know? Also, whose fault was that? You DID collapse on me without telling me of your plans."
"… Guess it's my fault, eh?"
"Yeah, totally your fault. Anyway, what's the plan today?"
Miaomiao changed the subject and probed Gan Ning. He wondered what the exam was, and how they could participate.
Miaomiao had no interest in joining any sect at the moment. However, last night, the girls, especially Wei Yuan and Ju Shoufen, encouraged him to infiltrate Jiangdong White Tiger Sect to learn about their movements in this upcoming war.
Since Miaomiao might not be able to contribute much during the grand-scale battle between 7th and 8th-stage cultivators, he might as well work as a spy to be more useful.
If possible, he might be able to sabotage the clan or forced the sect master to withdraw from the conflict prematurely. Also, Sun Yun, one of his wives, was from the Sun Clan. Miaomiao might be able to act as a mediator to negotiate for a truce in secret as the girl had already talked to her parents on phone.
"This is the last day for registration. We will visit the town hall and register our names for the exam tomorrow."
"… Today is the last day?"
"Yeah. And normally, the city will be the busiest today since all noblemen and their great-grandmothers usually gather here at the last minute. The queues will be LOOOOONG enough that we can use everyone as a bridge to cross the Black Sheep River."
This was the first time that Miaomiao heard that the registration period would end today and the sect entrance examination would take place tomorrow. Such a convenient coincidence felt like it was designed to favor a protagonist.
Miaomiao was confident that he was definitely not a protagonist. Thus, he suspected that another main character might be lurking nearby, or it might just be purely a coincidence.
"You knew today is the last day, but you still wanted to fuck those whores? What the heck!?"
"Oh, I didn't think about that," Gan Ning clapped his hands in a prayer position and raised clasped hands over his head. "My bad!"
"Forget it. Are they open now?"
Miaomiao wondered if the town hall was open for business at the moment since it was still dark outside. Currently, it was 4 AM, and the sun hadn't risen yet.
"Yeah, by now, there should be about ten thousand jerks on the street, queuing the lines now."
"…"
It was a bad decision to follow Gan Ning's lead. This drunkard playboy never thought ahead, and this might be the reason that he failed the exam twice.
…
In the end, Miaomiao took the lead and visited the town hall to register for the exam even though he didn't have a clue about the details.
As expected, the lines were long. The queue started from the center of the city, and the end of the line was two kilometers away.
Fortunately, there was a shortcut for noble families and children of rich merchants.
Next to the town hall, a giant landmark, aka a large sign with Chinese characters, [Casino], was visible from afar. A modern hotel with a football stadium-sized water fountain stood out like a sore thumb.
The hotel architects and engineers seemed to get inspiration from Las Vegas as a massive 100-story winged hotel building, an Eifel Tower, a Statue of Liberty, and even a ferry wheel were decorated with flashy light bulbs. Even at night before dawn, they shone brighter than the sunlight.
Had it been a normal casino hotel, Miaomiao would have ignored it. However, a large commercial ad sign, [VIP Examination Registration Service Included], attracted his eyes.
"Say, Xingba."
"Yeah, Mao?"
"What's the difference between the town hall and that place? Can we register if we go there?" Miaomiao pointed at the casino hotel.
"Ah, that? You need to be the casino's customer to register with them. You see, to be their customer, you need to exchange at least a million refined stones or an essence core into non-refundable chips to play in their casino. Then, they will give you a special service by registering your name or your companion's name for the exam tomorrow. Of course, one million refined stones per one person."
"Is that all?" Miaomiao tilted his head, not understanding why not many people chose to take a long queue.
"OF FUCKING COURSE, THAT'S ALL!! If we register at the town hall, the exam fee is only a spirit stone per person. But if we register there, we will instantly lose two fucking millions of refined stones!"
Miaomiao rolled his eyes and sighed, after which he left his queue and walked toward the casino.
"HEY, MAO!! CAO MAO!!" Gan Ning chased after him, worrying that his new friend might cause trouble and get himself killed.
After all, the casino was managed by the Sun Clan, the overseer of this city and the clan of Sun Wentai, the sect master of Jiangdong White Tiger Sect.
Miaomiao ignored Gan Ning's warning and his shout. He swaged toward the casino entrance.
Gan Ning caught up to his friend and seized Miaomiao's collar cloth. However, he couldn't stop the guy as Miaomiao kept proceeding forward.
As soon as Miaomiao got to the entrance of the hotel building, a gorgeous receptionist in a blue robe and three muscular bouncers in city soldier's armors stood before him.
"Excuse me, sir. Have you reserved a room in this hotel, or are you a friend of our customers?"
Before Miaomiao could speak anything, Gan Ning grabbed the former's head and pushed down, forcing Miaomiao to bow.
"I-I'm sorry, fairy ma'am! My friend is a country bumpkin and he doesn't know the custom of this place. Please forgive him!"
"…"
The receptionist maintained her fake smile and nodded politely. However, Miaomiao glared at Gan Ning.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"That's my line! Are you trying to get yourself killed!? Have you checked the bouncers' strength!? They're fucking 6th-stage, you moron!"
"So?"
"So!? Seriously! You must be dumber than toddlers! What are you trying to achieve by coming here!"
"Obviously, I'm here to register for the exam."
"PFFT!! As if! Didn't I tell you the minimum room fee of this place!? It's 1,000 refined stones per night, and you are obliged to exchange at least one million refined stones into non-refundable casino chips! If you don't have a million refined stones, you can't book the room!"
"So?"
"Didn't you hear what I said!? A million refined stones!!"
"So?" Miaomiao pushed Gan Ning's hand away and raised his head. He tilted his head and stared at the latter's face.
"You… Haiz. I don't know you anymore. You're too stupid to be my friend. Go ahead and get yourself killed," Gan Ning turned to the receptionist. "I don't know the fool. But when you kill him, please do it painlessly."
"…"
Gan Ning turned around and walked away as he shook his head, regretted that Miaomiao was beyond help.
Only then, Miaomiao took out three essence cores from his spatial rings and showed them to the receptionist.
"I'm here to book a room for me and that idiot over there. Are there enough rooms for us?"
The faces of the receptionist and the three bouncers changed. From a solemn look, they beamed the brightest business smile as they bowed 90 degrees toward Miaomiao.
The receptionist waved her hand and gestured Miaomiao to enter the building, "This way, young master. I shall guide you to book a room for you and your friend."
Miaomiao turned around and looked at Gan Ning, who overheard the conversation.
Gan Ning also looked back. His eyes were so round that they almost popped out of their sockets.
"Are you still my friend, you little shit?"
"…"
Gan Ning's brain.exe had stopped functioning for a moment. Two seconds later, the bare-chested man instantly groveled on the ground and kissed Miaomiao's feet.
"GREAT YOUNG MASTER, SIR! I'M FOREVER YOUR FRIEND, SIR!! OR, WOULD YOU PREFER ME TO CALL YOU FATHER!?"
"…"
Everyone in front of the hotel entrance and the people inside was expressionless as they stared at this shameless man. On the other hand, Miaomiao rolled his eyes again and walked into the hotel.
"From now on, I'm your father."
"YES, GREAT FATHER CAO!! YOU'RE AWESOME, SIR!!"
"Pipe it down, you stupid dog. Follow me and keep your mouth shut."
"Woof! Woof!"
"…"
Miaomiao didn't know whether he should laugh or cry as he had just recruited an idiot as his goon. Still, no matter how stupid Gan Ning could be, he was a promising youth with great potential. It wouldn't hurt to keep Gan Ning by his side and raise him.
…
Many people outside had seen the commotion that Gan Ning had caused. Several cultivators and local people remembered his face since Gan Ning was a regular here.
"Who the fuck was with Gan Ning?"
"Who knows? Maybe he's from a noble family or something?"
"That moron sure is shameless. Is he still calling himself a cultivator with that attitude?"
Among the crowd of queuing cultivators, a 16-year-old youth with a nodachi, a bigger version of a katana with longer hilt and blade, had been observing Miaomiao and Gan Ning.
He was also a 4th-stage cultivator. Currently, he had hidden his cultivation base, disguising himself as a 1st-stage cultivator. The youth only wore ragged clothes as if he were a beggar, hiding his toned muscle and battle scars on his chest and his back.
He mumbled to himself.
'Gan Xingba? Isn't he supposed to fail again this year? I don't remember Xingba joining any clan until he is 19. Has the timeline changed because of the upcoming war and Siren City?'
The young man was in front of the queue, and he was called to an empty booth inside the town hall.
"NEXT!!"
The young man turned around and walked toward the empty booth. He politely bowed and smiled at the staff.
"Next candidate, what's your name and affiliation?"
The young man's sharp eyes looked at the staff's face. His stoic air disappeared as he revealed a humble smile.
"Zhou Gongjin, sir."