Chapter 441: The Ten Thousand Immortals Pavilion

“Boss, take a look! This place is pretty nice, right?”
Qiao Tianhao, who was waiting at the entrance, immediately started boasting as soon as Lin Dong entered, “The Ten Thousand Immortals Pavilion is one of the two largest brothels in the capital. Here, as long as you have silver, there’s no girl you can’t find. Whether they’re plump or slender, innocent or seductive—these top-tier girls can single-handedly run a top-ranked brothel in any county town. I heard the top girl is so beautiful that even princes drool over her. Of course, the prices are exorbitant—twelve times higher than those in regular restaurants. A regular girl costs over a hundred taels of silver per night, and for a top-tier girl, you’d need a thousand taels just to think about it. As for the top girl, you’d need an entire silver mountain just to ask for her services. I heard even the richest people in the capital hesitate to visit her. By the way, the reason it’s called the Ten Thousand Immortals Pavilion is because…”
To Lin Dong’s ears, Qiao Tianhao’s voice sounded like that of a noisy toad, making him want to slap him across the face.
What made Lin Dong even more tempted to strike was seeing that the girls responsible for greeting guests on the first floor stopped in their tracks when Qiao Tianhao approached them. Looking at the attitudes of the other girls and the disgusted looks they gave him, Lin Dong could imagine how, years ago, when Qiao Tianhao first entered the pavilion and the girls there smiled at him, he became emboldened and caused a scene there.
In fact, Lin Dong’s imagination wasn’t even close to reality. Back then, almost every top-tier girl in the pavilion tried to escape his grasp. Those who were polite were slapped by him, and then he demanded more. The brothel owner, seeing that he wasn’t well-dressed but had such an arrogant attitude, thought he was some prince who had slipped in to have fun. She sent all the top-tier girls over to cater to him, only for them to be slapped one after another.
In the end, when Qiao Tianhao foolishly revealed his identity, the brothel owner, who had been running the entertainment scene in the capital for decades, lost her temper. With Qiao Tianhao’s strength at the time, he was neither strong nor weak. He caused a ruckus in the pavilion for an hour or two before being caught by the guards.

Although in the end Qiao Tianhao was beaten almost to paralysis, and it took the young master of the extravagant Fenglin Restaurant in Wanxian Tower personally stepping in to barely get him back, Wanxian Tower’s losses were far more than just compensating a few thousand taels of silver for damaged tables, chairs, and dishes. It was by far the worst loss the restaurant had suffered in decades. Even with miracle medicines, almost all of the girls with red cards had swollen faces for two or three days. To preserve their reputations, Wanxian Tower unusually closed for three days. Both tangible and intangible losses were immeasurable.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Qiao Tianhao was the most unwelcome person at Wanxian Tower.

Seeing no one to greet him, Lin Dong could only stand at the door, allowing the clients coming in and out to pass by him. He believed Wanxian Tower wouldn’t let this plague-like Qiao Tianhao stand at the door forever; someone would surely come out to deal with him.

Lin Dong had his own thoughts, but Qiao Tianhao had his own. Having received ten thousand taels of silver, he wanted to enjoy the glory and also let the shop owner benefit a bit. But look now—these girls clearly still remembered him; none of them showed any intention of greeting customers. How could he enjoy glory or let the shop owner benefit?

With a twisted mouth and slanted eyes, Qiao Tianhao scanned the hall and shouted loudly, “Is there anyone alive here? Why aren’t any guests greeted when they come in?”

The girls responsible for greeting customers immediately became enthusiastic, warmly welcoming the clients as they came in and out, deliberately avoiding looking in Qiao Tianhao’s direction.

Many of the clients drinking wine on the first floor stood up upon hearing this. Whether intentionally or not, Qiao Tianhao’s words had undoubtedly included them. Those who could enter Wanxian Tower were at least worth tens of thousands of taels; they certainly wouldn’t tolerate such disrespect. Soon, those who stood up were pulled back down by their more sensible companions.

Those who dared cause trouble at Wanxian Tower were either reckless outsiders visiting Beijing for the first time or people with significant influence. Either way, it was unnecessary to provoke them, and in the latter case, it was simply asking for trouble.

For a moment, many glared at Qiao Tianhao, but none stepped forward.

Lin Dong almost laughed—people in the capital were truly cautious.

Before long, as Lin Dong had expected, eight men dressed as guards quietly surrounded him from all directions. The only difference was that at the staircase leading to the second floor, a woman who appeared to be in her twenties from a distance but actually around thirty up close followed one of the greeting girls down.

The woman’s gaze was like a sword, fixed intently on Qiao Tianhao. Her still-pale and exquisitely beautiful face was covered with a thin layer of frost. Qiao Tianhao swallowed hard. His eyes wandered between her face and chest, emitting a scorching intensity, like fire and lightning. Clearly accustomed to such gazes from Qiao Tianhao, she moved lightly, unaffected, and came to stand in front of them. Her gracefully arched eyebrows gave her an air of authority without even raising her voice. This woman was Lou Wanshen, the owner of the Wanxian Tower—the most famous prostitute in the capital thirty years ago. “Qiao Tianhao, have you forgotten my warning to you?” Lou Wanshen’s tone was filled with displeasure, yet her voice was as sweet as that of a oriole, making all the clients present perk up their ears, captivated. Qiao Tianhao rubbed his nose, his eyes still roaming over Lou Wanshen’s face and chest, with no intention of responding to her words. A few years ago, he had indeed suffered a great loss here at the Wanxian Tower, but times had changed. He had brought people here repeatedly—partly to see the beauties, and partly to avenge himself. To make Qiao Tianhao revere her like a deity, one would need to display a strength and ruthlessness that, even as he grew stronger, would leave him in despair—just like Lin Dong. Nearby, Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before bowing and asking, “May I know how you should be addressed, sister?” “Sister?” For the first time, Lou Wanshen turned her gaze toward Lin Dong. She hadn’t been to the first floor in ages; she had come today solely because of Qiao Tianhao, that troublemaker. All she saw was him. But Lin Dong’s use of “sister” was so crude that she couldn’t help but look at him. The expressions on the faces of the clients and the hostesses became strange. That term “sister” suddenly reminded them of Lou Wanshen’s age. The Wanxian Tower had been open for nearly thirty years, and Lou Wanshen had seemingly been called “Sister Immortal” for the same length of time. Considering the norms of brothels, she should have long since been called “Aunt Lou” or “Aunt Immortal,” ignoring her appearance that still resembled that of a woman in her thirties. “Call me Sister Immortal!” Lou Wanshen said indifferently. She realized that, judging by this man’s demeanor, Qiao Tianhao might not be here to cause trouble, as he was merely a lackey. “Sister Immortal!” Lin Dong nodded with a smile, scanning the guards around before fixing his gaze on Lou Wanshen’s face. He said, “Could you please help me find Master Fu? I have something to discuss with him.” “Master Fu?” Lou Wanshen waved her right hand, and the eight guards slowly stepped back. “Fu Zizhou,” Lin Dong explained.

“Wanxian Tower doesn’t have such a person!” Lou Wanxian replied without hesitation. Others might not notice, but having seen countless people over the decades, she could discern the extraordinary aura in Lin Dong—like an unsheathed divine weapon, heavy yet casual, mixed with astonishing sharpness. She had met a few people like him, and each one was someone even Wanxian Tower’s strength wouldn’t dare to offend lightly.

However, according to the laws of the Great Han Kingdom, officials were not allowed to enter brothels, and it was a serious crime. As for the rules of brothels, they were obligated to keep the identities of their official clients secret. Although Lou Wanxian wasn’t afraid that someone would dare to cause trouble at Wanxian Tower, even she adhered strictly to these rules.

As for Lin Dong, it would be best not to offend him, but if forced, Lou Wanxian wasn’t afraid either. Wanxian Tower had only one top performer and just over thirty red-carded girls. In the capital, there were countless wealthy merchants and nobles. Every year, she encountered dozens of such situations where two rival groups both wanted the same red-carded girl and refused to compromise. She had offended eight hundred or a thousand people over the years and had long developed a strong heart.

Not to mention Lin Dong’s extraordinary aura—even if Emperor Qianwei were here, Lou Wanxian would still dare to offend him.

Offending Emperor Qianwei carried varying degrees of treason. For minor offenses, one could find backers to make amends. But if reputation was lost, Wanxian Tower would never again see officials coming in. Even other clients might harbor resentment.

Having operated in the capital’s entertainment venues for decades, such courage meant nothing to Lou Wanxian.

Lin Dong smiled indifferently and asked, “Sister Xian, I’ve come all the way from Southwest County to find a friend. Since I can’t find them, I can’t just leave empty-handed. Do you have any better private rooms?”

“Please, gentlemen, come upstairs!” Lou Wanxian gave a subtle nod to a girl waiting to greet guests, then led the two up with a charming yet friendly smile.

Lin Dong glanced at Qiao Tianhao beside him and strode toward the stairs. Qiao Tianhao twisted his mouth again, took out a ten-thousand-tael silver note, stepped forward, and shoved it into Lou Wanxian’s open chest with a mischievous grin.

Lou Wanxian remained smiling, but when Qiao Tianhao followed Lin Dong’s pace, glanced at the amount on the note, and glared at him from behind, her expression turned angry.

A silver note worth ten thousand taels—thirty years ago, Lou Wanshan wouldn’t even glance at it, let alone take advantage of it for free. If it weren’t for not wanting to offend Lin Dong, and adhering to her principle of treating guests well, she would have without hesitation ordered her guards to throw that plague of Qiao Tianhao out.
Feeling that the three of them had almost reached the upper floors, the girl who welcomed guests hurried after them. Upon arriving on the second floor, she glanced at the private room on the left before continuing at full speed to a private room on the third floor.
At the huge round table in the room sat no less than twenty men and women. At the head of the table, Fu Zizhou was fawned over and praised like a king, his face bearing an air of arrogance befitting an emperor. Even Ma Ye, who stood behind him, had a far more haughty expression than any of the young masters present.