Chapter 67: Contact (1)
Gu Xuanchao loved going to the Red Door Tower in the morning to have a bowl of Truffle Porridge paired with a Thousand-Layer Pastry made by Jiang Min and his wife. He felt like this was pretty much the best part of his life.
After breakfast, he would usually go to the Hundred Songbirds Courtyard to listen to some music. For lunch, he would eat at some restaurant; he would take a bath in the afternoon, and then in the evening he would go to the Flying Smoke Pavilion or the Fragrant Elegance Boudoir to find a few girls that pleased his eyes. Occasionally, he would also spend some time at the casinos. He didn’t care about whether he won or not; he just wanted some excitement.
Gu Xuanchao was a Light Shaking Realm cultivator. His Demonic Lord Bloodline had reached the limit, as any higher and he would reach the Spirit Burning Realm. This was an inevitability of being in a higher social cla.s.s; initially, people without a bloodline could at most reach the Blood Boiling Realm, those with mixed bloodlines could reach the Light Shaking Realm, and those with bloodlines weaker than Demonic King Bloodlines could reach the Spirit Burning Realm.
To someone with a Demonic Lord Bloodline, charging into the Spirit Burning Realm was very dangerous and had a low success rate. Gu Xuanchao valued living in the moment, and for him quality mattered more than quant.i.ty in a person’s life.
As such, he didn’t want to charge higher.
He had given up.
Living in an intoxicated dream for a few hundred years was pretty good. At this point, it was more likely for him to lose control and activate his Origin Beast Bloodline, than him attempting to charge into the Spirit Burning Realm.
However, it was time to find a new place to indulge himself.
Perhaps this was a luxury that was only available to those surnamed Gu. Regardless of whether they viewed their Origin Beast Bloodline as a curse or a blessing, they at least had the right to choose.
As such, Gu Xuanchao lived a simple, clean, and carefree life. He didn’t even spend any time on daily cultivation.
Actually, he wasn’t the only one who lived this way; there were a lot of people from the Gu Clan who had made such a decision. If you discovered that a chance activation of your bloodline would easily outstrip decades if not centuries of diligent cultivation, you would probably also choose to live life to the fullest and indulge in the pleasures of the mortal world.
As per usual, Gu Xuanchao headed straight for the Red Door Tower as soon as he woke up.
When he arrived, however, he discovered that Jiang Min and his wife’s breakfast station wasn’t there anymore.
“Hm? How come Sir Jiang isn’t here selling food today?” Gu Xuanchao asked.
The old woman selling tofu soup to the side replied, “Of course he’s selling food. He’s just moved over to the Floating Fragrance Tower. Apparently, the Floating Fragrance Tower bought his stall, so they’re doing business over there now.”
“The Floating Fragrance Tower?” Gu Xuanchao was taken aback. “The Su Residence?”
How could he possibly be ignorant of the name that the Su Residence had created for itself?
“Yes, it was the head of the Su Residence himself. He’s rich,” the old woman laughed in reply, as if the Su Clan’s head had given her a bunch of benefits as well.
Gu Xuanchao harrumphed. “Who knows where this prodigal son came from? Is he trying to buy all the good things in Swallow River City for himself?”
He waved his sleeves crossly and headed for the tower.
Gu Xuanchao entered with a dissatisfied att.i.tude. In his opinion, the Su Residence was guilty of forcing him to change the habits that he had developed over a number of years. However, when he walked inside and saw the clean interior, as well as the Truffle Porridge that Jiang Min and his wife were ladling out of a brand new wok, he suddenly felt that it was always windy outside with dust flying everywhere. Eating breakfast within the tower was pretty good too, he thought to himself, and his mood lightened up a bit.
One of the waiters with keener eyesight spotted him and said, “Hey, if it isn’t Fourth Elder Gu! Please, come and have a seat.”
He hurried over and led Gu Xuanchao to a seat.
Gu Xuanchao carelessly said, “Oh, so you know who I am.”
“How could I not know of the Gu Clan’s Fourth Elder? The Jiang couple talks about Fourth Elder all the time, and our boss also said that we need to take good care of guests from the Gu Clan. Fourth Elder, please sit.”
He brought Gu Xuanchao over to the Floating Fragrance Tower’s innermost seat, then brought over the Truffle Porridge and Thousand-Layer Pastry, along with a few appetizers that he placed neatly on the cleaned table.
Gu Xuanchao took a bite and nodded. “Even though it’s in a different environment now, the technique and flavor are both the same. The porridge is heavy and the Thousand-Layer Pastry is fragrant and light. It came quite quickly.”
The waiter laughed along. “As long as Fourth Elder likes it. Right, Fourth Elder, are you still planning on heading to the Hundred Songbirds Courtyard after breakfast?”
“Kid, you seem very familiar with my movements. You aren’t planning on trying to a.s.sa.s.sinate me, are you?”
The waiter hurriedly replied, “Fourth Elder, it’s not like that. How would I dare? I’m just asking on behalf of my boss and Jiang Min and his wife. The movements of any important guests need to be determined so that we can provide the best service. If Fourth Elder is planning on going there, then I will notify someone to prepare a spot for you in the Hundred Songbirds Courtyard. Now that we’re all under the same banner, it’s extremely convenient for us to provide services like this. Fourth Elder, you won’t need to ever worry that you won’t be able to find a good spot.”
“That’s quite interesting. Okay, then please reserve a spot for me. Right…… do these things cost extra money?” Gu Xuanchao asked as he pointed at the appetizers on the table.
The waiter hurriedly replied, “Fourth Elder, please eat them without worry. The owner already said that these are just complimentary items for Fourth Elder. We won’t charge anything extra for them.”
“He’s a tactful man,” said Gu Xuanchao as he nodded.
After breakfast, he headed to the Hundred Songbirds Courtyard. Indeed, someone had already taken care of everything for him. The piece being performed was the “Dragon Touch,” by the Zhao Clan. It was his favorite piece.
Just as the song swelled to its climax, Gu Xuanchao saw a group of people walk in from outside and head for the guest room with the best position. The young man at the very front carried himself with an imposing manner. One glance at him and anyone could easily tell that he was no commoner.
Gu Xuanchao felt his heart jolt slightly as he drew a conjecture silently.
Not long after that man seated himself, a servant came running over from over there, carrying an invitation over to Gu Xuanchao. He respectfully said, “My clan’s prince heard that Fourth Elder Gu was sitting here watching the play and specifically asked me to send his greetings over to you. He will come by to pay his respects personally in a bit.”
Gu Xuanchao accepted the invitation and took a glance. He saw two words embossed onto the golden invitation.
Su Chen.
So it was indeed him.
Gu Xuanchao said, “Since that’s the case, then please, Prince Su, come sit with me.”
A moment later, Su Chen appeared in Gu Xuanchao’s room.
“Su Chen greets Fourth Elder Gu. This is just a small expression of my goodwill.”
He gestured. A person next to him stepped forward with a red bowl filled with bags of tea from Old Auspice.
The seal itself was made from Young Spring Amber. This item wasn’t very expensive, but it was produced in low quant.i.ties and was often hard to find.
This Prince Su had obviously put quite a bit of effort into preparing this present. Gu Xuanchao’s att.i.tude towards him became much more favorable as he accepted the gift without much formality. “Prince Su, please sit.”
Su Chen sat down, and Gu Xuanchao continued, “Prince Su’s name has echoed in my ears like thunder for the past month or so. So now even Old Auspice is under your name?”
Su Chen said with a slight smile, “Fourth Elder Gu, please forgive the brusque way I have conducted myself these past few weeks.”
Gu Xuanchao said, “I originally thought that was the case and that you were just a silk trousers Young Master squandering money like it was dirt. But now it seems that those rumors are not true in the slightest. Prince Su knows how to speak courteously and acts in a measured manner. It is no surprise that you are from a large clan.”
“You flatter me, Fourth Elder.”
The two of them began to converse with one another.
They didn’t talk about anything of particular importance, instead just chatting casually. Even so, as they chatted, Gu Xuanchao got a better idea of Su Chen’s character.
The two of them became more and more familiar as they conversed.
After some time, Su Chen bid farewell and left.
As he watched Su Chen depart, Gu Xuanchao said with a slight smile, “This Su Chen is quite an interesting character.”
The perfect first impression.