Chapter 90: Treasure of the Jin Clan, Jin Dabao
“He’s finished. This guy offended the Young Miss of the Duanmu Clan. He is probably going to die.”
“Offending the Duanmu Clan is nothing. The one he has to be careful of is the eldest son of the Jiang Clan. That youth caused Duanmu Qing to be humiliated in the Jin Clan’s territory, so Jiang Muheng is definitely not going to let him off the hook.”
“This youth is definitely a foreigner. He actually managed to offend both the top n.o.ble clan of Sishui Prefecture and the top n.o.ble clan of White Water City.”
“Furthermore, he is only a Superior Grade Martial Disciple. His death is only a matter of time.”
After seeing what happened earlier, the cultivators within the second floor waited for that group of people to leave first before looking at Xiao Chen, shaking their heads and sighing.
Xiao Chen did not mind and just smiled indifferently. He continued carving the piece of wood in his hand. When the final stroke was done, he blew at the wooden carving with satisfaction.
Xiao Bai did not know what was going on and raised its weird eyes and looked all around. As nothing of interest caught its eyes, it continued to happily eat its fish porridge.
“Peng! Peng!”
A fatty from the second floor, adorned with glittering jewelry, walked towards Xiao Chen. There were loud booming sounds as he trod on the floor, causing everyone to wonder if he would create a hole in it.
He beamed brightly as he walked over, and his tiny eyes were reduced to an even tinier, curved slit. Originally, this was supposed to portray a face radiant with happiness, but his face seemed wretched instead.
“Friend, may I sit down and have some wine?” right as he said that, he immediately sank his plump a.s.s down without even waiting for Xiao Chen to reply. Beaming broadly, he continued, “Friend, you are very straightforward, accepting my request so quickly.”
There were all sorts of rings on his finger. There were jadeite, white jade, gold; you name it, he has it. He held a folding fan made of gold in his hand, which matched his jewelry-adorned clothes.
It was a get-up that screamed of wealth. It was as tacky as it could be, to the point where it was extremely vulgar.
Xiao Chen picked up his wine cup and lightly took a sip. He did not mind the intrusion and smiled, “Are you here to buy this Spirit Fox as well?”
With a ‘shua’ sound, that fatty opened up his gold folding fan and began fanning himself, acting cultured and elegant. Unfortunately, with his get-up, it looked extremely strange instead.
If Feng Feixue, who used a folding fan as well, saw this fatty, would she smack him to death with a palm? thinking of this, Xiao Chen could not help but smile.
The fatty fanned himself vigorously for a while, as if to exhibit a certain atmosphere before composedly replying to Xiao Chen’s question, “I’m not that silly. Although that girl from the Duanmu Clan was able to make out the bloodline of this Spirit Beast, she was unable to see that this Spirit Beast had already made a blood contract.
“As long as you are not dead, even if someone bought the Spirit Beast, it would run back by itself. Whoever buys it is just stupid.”
Xiao Chen was astonished – this fatty had great insight. He could not help but ask in a serious manner, “I have not asked you for your great name yet.”
When the fatty saw that his words had astonished Xiao Chen, he laughed c.o.c.kily. The fat on his face jiggled. When Xiao Chen saw this, he was alarmed, afraid that these two pieces of flesh would fall off.
“Ha ha, my family name is Jin and my name is Dabao. What do you think? Sounds domineering, right? My dad gave me the name Jin Da, but I felt that it was too ordinary so I added the Bao word.
[TL notes: The Chinese like to give their names and family name separately.]
Xiao Chen began sweating profusely in his heart; Jin Da, Jin Dabao… they were indeed father and son. Xiao Chen laughed incredulously, “Ha ha. Brother Jin, your name is indeed domineering.”
Jin Dabao was very satisfied with Xiao Chen’s behaviour, smiling as he said, “Brother, stop dawdling, give me your name as well. The moment I met you, I felt that we were very similar.”
“Xiao Chen.”
Jin Dabao rubbed his lower chin as he muttered to himself in a soft voice, “Xiao Chen… This name sounds quite familiar. Forget it, my head hurts thinking about it.”
“Brother Xiao, to tell you the truth, I’m quite interested in the wooden carving in your hand. I wonder if you would allow me to check it out.”
Right after he said that, his right hand moved in a careless manner and the wooden carving on the table immediately appeared in his hand. Xiao Chen was astonished once again, and he carefully reviewed Jin Dabao’s earlier movements in his mind.
If I knew what he was thinking in advance, I would be somewhat confident in stopping and preventing him from obtaining the wooden carving.
Xiao Chen continuously re-enacted the situation in his mind, but he was not able to stop him even after numerous simulations. This fatty’s speed might not seem fast, but it had a natural feel to it.
It looked incredibly casual, just like a friend greeting you before taking away your things from right under your nose as though it was normal.
Actually, this was a type of concealment and misdirection. If he did not wish for you to know, then it was highly likely that he, the perpetrator, would elude you even after you realized your item was missing.
Jin Dabao was just an Inferior Grade Martial Master, but Xiao Chen put up his guard around him, cla.s.sifying him as a terrifying person.
Jin Dabao kept rubbing the wooden carving as he held it. There was a twinkle in his eyes, which looked extremely disgusting. It was as disgusting as possible, an appearance with the semblance of a male pig in love. This was the only, single way for Xiao Chen to describe him.
Xiao Chen could no longer bear to continue watching and s.n.a.t.c.hed the wooden carving back. He was afraid that, if this fat person kept rubbing it, the wooden carving would be abraded till it was flat.
d.a.m.n it!
Xiao Chen held it in his hand and took a look: the chest area of the Yue Ying carving had been worn completely flat, to a point where the bra was completely gone and no longer visible. Xiao Chen was speechless, How disgusting does this idiot have to be for him to be able to do this?
Seeing Xiao Chen lose control of himself, Jin Dabao did not show even a trace of shame as he laughed twice before looking at Xiao Chen vulgarly, “How unexpected! So Brother Xiao actually shares the same interests. To think you are actually capable of making such a realistic carving of the G.o.ddess in my heart, and one that seems even more realistic than the actual person at that.”
‘Are you selling this wooden carving? Wait! That won’t do, carve a new one for me. I will exchange an Earth Rank Spirit Weapon for it.”
“The words of I, Jin Dabao, are like gold. I definitely keep my word. I also conduct business in a fair manner. I will not be like a certain girl, trying to cheat and play you for a fool.”
Even if I carved another one for you, you would rub it till there is nothing left – not even dregs! Xiao Chen thought in his heart. Looking at the wooden carving that had its depiction of a chest rubbed flat, Xiao Chen remembered that Fatty Jin’s sweat was still on it. He suddenly felt incomparably disgusted.
He fiercely threw the wooden carving out of the window before firing out a stream of purple flames, shattering the wooden carving in the air into bits. After wiping his hands furiously, Xiao Chen finally found a modic.u.m of solace.
“My G.o.ddess!” the fatty exclaimed. He had rushed to the window and seen what had happened to the wooden carving. His face distorted into an expression of matchless grief and heartbreak.
Xiao Chen could not be bothered with him. He only left behind a bank note and prepared to leave.
“Brother Xiao, don’t go, don’t be in such a hurry to leave.” Albeit having stood by the window earlier, Jin Dabao suddenly arrived in front of Xiao Chen in a flash. His face was wreathed in smiles as he tightly held onto Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen wanted to fling aside his hand, but he found that this fellow was not just heavy in an ordinary sense. In a situation such as this where Xiao Chen did not use his Essence, he was completely unable to move Jin Dabao at all.
The helpless Xiao Chen could only stop resisting, and said, “Don’t even think of getting me to carve that for you, I will not agree to it.”
Jin Dabao beamed as he said, “That’s fine, that’s fine. Even if business talks fall through, we can still be friends. I feel that we have an affinity to each other. I would like to treat you to some wine, is that fine? Let’s go to the fourth floor.”
“My treat!” The fatty patted his chest as he said boldly.
Xiao Chen was pestered by him to the point where he had no other choice, adding, “We only drink, no business talks. After the drink is done, I’m leaving.”
Jin Dabao let go gleefully, “Not a problem, not a problem. Come! Let us go to the fourth floor immediately. It is more peaceful there.”
Xiao Chen slowly followed him to the stairs. What surprised Xiao Chen was that the three cultivators of Liushang Pavilion standing in front of the stairs had extremely respectful expressions on their face when they saw the fatty.
Un.o.bstructed, they had a smooth pa.s.sage to the fourth floor. The fourth floor of Liushang Pavilion was different from how Xiao Chen had imagined it would be; the decorations were very simple, and there were no extravagant furnis.h.i.+ngs.
However, the simple decorations did not give off a monotonous and dull feeling. Instead, it caused people to feel refreshed, putting them in a happy mood.
“Ding dong, ding dong!”
From behind a screen on the fourth floor, there was a melodious sound coming from a zither. It was like the song of a nightingale fresh from the forest, or the tender twittering of a fledgling swallow returning to its nest. It was like the noise of heavy rain for a moment, and then... it petered out into a quiet whisper.
It started like a thunderstorm and then ended on a mournful tone.
The splendid music of the zither caused Xiao Chen, who knew nothing about music, to be enchanted. The mellow music matched the elegant decorations of the fourth floor, unwittingly entrancing its listeners.
Xiao Chen opened his mouth, giving words of praise, “The decorations of the fourth floor are truly a great work of skill. All of it is extremely elegant and must have been done by an expert.”
When Jin Dabao heard this, he felt great in his heart. He elegantly opened that folding fan made of gold and fanned himself for a bit. Smiling, he said, “The humble me is not that talented. Thank you for your praises, Brother Xiao. The decorations of the fourth floor were designed by me. All the branches of Liushang Pavilion in the nation are laid out like this.”
Xiao Chen was speechless, as he could not establish a connection between this fatty and the elegance of the fourth floor. After a long time, he said, “Pretend I never said that.”
Lead by Jin Dabao, the two of them made their way to a table by the railings. The field of view here was very wide, and they could clearly see the people walking on the street.
“Waiter! Bring two bottles of good wine, as well as some side dishes. Oh, and a bowl of fish porridge, too,” Jin Dabao immediately shouted out after he took a seat.
The efficiency of the Liushang Pavilion’s service was very high. It took but a moment for the waiter to provide them with all of their side dishes. Jin Dabao had a fragrant bowl of fish porridge placed in front of him.
When Xiao Bai caught whiff of the fragrant smell, it immediately jumped onto the table and made a dash for the fish porridge. Jin Dabao found the little fox to be interesting and stretched out his hand to pat its head.
With a quick flash, Xiao Bai evaded Jin Dabao’s plump hand. It used both claws to slowly push the bowl of fish porridge towards Xiao Chen, and it even raised its head to roll its eyes at Jin Dabao.
Jin Dabao was actually looked down upon by Xiao Bai, He laughed somewhat awkwardly and took a mouthful of wine before saying to Xiao Chen, “Brother Xiao Chen, you have a pair of miraculous hands! I have a plan for us to get rich. As long as you cooperate, we will immediately be rolling in money.”
Xiao Chen nodded his head with some interest. “Tell me more.”
Fatty Jin chuckled as he vulgarly moved closer to Xiao Chen’s ears and unraveled his plan to Xiao Chen in a soft voice. When Xiao Chen heard it, he could not help but smile bitterly, “I now realize that you’re as gutsy as you are fat... no, perhaps to a greater degree.”
Fatty Jin chuckled, “As long as you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who would know it was done by the two of us.”
Xiao Chen was just about to reject when a manservant ran over and said to Xiao Chen, “Dear guest, the customer at that table has requested for your presence.”
Looking in the direction of his finger, Xiao Chen saw that the group of people the manservant was talking about were Jiang Muheng, Duanmu Qing, and the others.