Chapter 1624: Chapter Seventy-Four: Bustling_2

Feng Shixing sighed and said, “This is indeed the fief of a Void Grandmaster, even the followers managing the docks possess such an imposing manner.”

Yancang Ningxiang Road, the tiger and leopard Feng Shixing.

He cultivated a normal Yellow-ranked boxing technique to the point of attaining Boxing Intent, becoming unrivaled on Ningxiang Road, almost single-handedly bestowing a mediocre martial arts hall with a touch of noble clan’s aura.

With eight hundred disciples under his command, and the might of a thousand beasts surging forth after his Tiger Leopard Might took shape, even the strong from Fierce Realm dare not rashly challenge his edge.

Even though Ningxiang Road is just a single county within Yancang, the Feng family has already attained the aura of a prominent clan; the only thing missing now is a Fierce Realm powerhouse.

Over these years, Feng Shixing scoured far and wide, indeed obtaining some fragments of Mysterious State techniques, yet much of it was vague when it came to the Soul Casting part.

The few records that were clear were mostly ancient secret manuals, with obscure terminology and ambiguous meanings; he could only understand the gist.

Therefore, upon hearing that Red Cloud Mountain had a disciple skilled in Soul Casting, he promptly put aside his family business and, accompanied by his loyal servants, hurried to Chaochang.

All for the purpose of finding a Soul Casting technique suitable for himself!

Lifting his head to look at the lofty Red Cloud Peak piercing the clouds, and the city of wonders bathed in golden light from the clouds, Feng Shixing, full of high spirits, said, “Let’s go, up the mountain!”

…

The core skill of gathering intelligence is simply collecting and sorting.

Collecting information from a certain area, and then filtering out the valuable parts.

Everyone knows the origin of Red Cloud Mountain, which is a mine prolific in producing Red Cloud Crystals; its potential was exhausted years ago because of the depletion of Red Cloud Crystal Marrow.

Later it became Longxi’s Pride Tang Luo’s fief, transformed overnight into the unprecedented Crystal Palace, and was revitalized.

But nobody has ever heard of any academy here, so for the vast majority of those seeking out information, investigating the roots of this academy is of utmost importance.

So, to inspect the foundations of an academy, what better way is there than to gather information at tea houses and taverns?

Unparalleled City is just a small mountain city, where taverns and tea houses open daily to offer hospitality; they capture every change within the city.

Where the academy is located, who the dean is, when it was established, how accomplished it is.

All of this is impossible to conceal from the locals of Unparalleled City.

Thus, the Wind Media coming to seek out information naturally headed into taverns, and following the usual procedure, they were expected to generously order some food and drinks, then tip the waiter a bit, which would more or less complete their initial task; depending on the information received, they would decide whether or not to delve deeper.

However, when Liu Xiao Jun looked up at the wine and food menus, and kept repeating “want, want, want” for a long time, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to place the order.

“Dear guest, you have been looking for quite a while now, so are you going to order or not?”

The waiter, with a white towel draped over his shoulder and carrying a rosewood tray, looked at Liu Xiao Jun, who was wide-eyed yet silent for some time, and impatiently said.

“Order? Order your stingy specter to be reborn and die once more!” Liu Xiao Jun, a foot on the stair, pointed like a sword to the wine and food menus hanging on the wall behind the counter, “Are you a black shop or what? A pot of rice wine for eight hundred gold, small stir-fry pork for seven hundred and sixty; is this pork? This damn thing must be dragon meat!”

“Bang!”

The waiter slammed the tray down onto the table, his face fierce, “Guest… You can eat food recklessly, but you can’t be rash with words. You desire dragon meat for seven hundred sixty? Guest, you must be a toad lusting after swan meat!”

“Hey, you sure are arrogant for a waiter! Is this the way to treat your customers!?”

Liu Xiao Jun, unable to suppress his anger, rolled up his sleeves, and questioned loudly.

“Only those who order food and drinks are considered customers; if you don’t order, you’re just a ghost of a guest!”

The waiter, with a nose pointed skyward, held the tray aloft, “Are you ordering or not? If you aren’t, then stop hogging the seat and get out!”

Because of the quarrel, a crowd had already formed outside the tavern; upon hearing the waiter’s relentless command to leave, laughter erupted.

An ordinary man facing this situation, even with a swollen face, would have to grit his teeth and place an order to preserve his dignity, but Liu Xiao Jun could not.

After enduring a tremendous business failure two years ago, he had been doing all kinds of dirty and tiring work just to pay off debts.

This hard-earned money, gained through nights of efforts regardless of the weather or time of day, how could he bear to squander it on face-saving in a tavern!

“Hmph, I understand now. Hiring a waiter like you, the tavern aims to provoke patrons into paying out of pride!”

Liu Xiao Jun outstretched two fingers, raised them to eye level, peering along them, putting on an arrogant expression as if to say “I’ve seen through everything,” “Your petty tricks have been seen through by this young master, I wish your tavern bankruptcy and to close down soon, goodbye!”

“Hey, you little scoundrel, what are you saying!! Stop, stop, don’t run if you dare!!”

Run?

If I don’t run, I’m your grandson!

Liu Xiao Jun threw down harsh words and turned to run, his slim and small body coupled with agile steps, slipped into the crowd, and instantly disappeared without a trace.

‘I refuse to believe that without butcher Zhang, there’s no way to eat pork with the hair removed. Unparalleled City is so huge, there must be a reasonably priced tavern!’

After wandering around the main roads of Unparalleled City for several laps, entering and exiting various taverns and tea houses, Liu Xiao Jun’s expression grew more and more desperate.

Before coming, he truly didn’t expect that this remote mountain city would have such exorbitantly high prices.

It was just the beginning of autumn, yet looking up at the drink and food menu, a chill could emerge from the pit of one’s stomach-only such an experience is truly unique to Unparalleled City!

Liu Xiao Jun, who could never persuade himself to place an order, dejectedly sat down at a tea lookout by the street corner, staring blankly at the empty bowl in front of him, panting heavily with “huff huff huff.”

Having managed to calm his emotions and smooth out his breath, Liu Xiao Jun looked at the still empty check in front of him and exploded like a lit oil barrel.

“Shop owner! Shop owner!!!”

With angry shouts, looking back and forth, Liu Xiao Jun spotted the tea lookout owner with a look of bewilderment.

Pointing at the empty tea bowl in front of him, the Wind Media who came from Kunwu County angrily said: “I’ve been sitting here for half a day, why haven’t you served tea yet!!”

“Dear customer… Would you like some tea?”

The tea lookout owner asked cautiously.

“Nonsense, coming to a tea lookout and not having tea, what else would I do, take a bath?”

“Maybe… the customer would like to take a look at the tea menu first?”

The tea lookout owner sounded a bit apprehensive.

“Look, what’s there to look at, how fancy can you make a cup of tea…”

Muttering under his breath, but Liu Xiao Jun still followed the tea lookout owner’s pointing hand and turned his head, his anger resurfaced the instant he saw the tea menu: “Damn it, are you sick? What’s up with Unparalleled City, does it have a mountain of gold? A cup of tea for a hundred gold, why don’t you just go rob someone!”

The tea lookout owner was an honest man, and he knew the current prices were indeed outrageously high, but hearing Liu Xiao Jun speak ill of Unparalleled City, he still retorted: “The price is what it is. The officials from the city hall said all those who have come to Unparalleled City these days are here for information. If we don’t make the money, it’s a wasted opportunity. If the customer only wants to drink tea and not ask anything, this old man will offer a cup of tea for free!”

“Sss…”

Liu Xiao Jun had never seen such honest folks before, feeling so frustrated that his molars were almost sour: “What kind of place is this city hall that they even discuss these matters with you?”

“Would the customer still like to have tea?”

The stumped Wind Media from Kunwu fell silent, then asked: “Is it true that if I order tea, the owner would be willing to chat with me about this newly opened academy?”

“The officials from city hall say that once tea is ordered, we can talk!”

The owner replied earnestly.

“Alright then, let’s order!”

Liu Xiao Jun reluctantly pulled out a small bag, took out a gold token from his bosom and placed it on the table. Watching the owner gleefully collect it, Liu Xiao Jun said helplessly: “Now, can the owner tell me where the Unparalleled Academy is located at.”

“Isn’t the Unparalleled Academy right over there?”

The tea lookout owner looked at Liu Xiao Jun as if he were a fool, pointing towards the Crystal Palace at the end of the avenue and asked in response.

“Are you joking with me? Isn’t that the dojo of the Void Grandmaster, how did it become Unparalleled Academy?”

“One cup of tea, one question.”

“Is this also something taught by your city hall?”

“Hehe.”

The tea lookout owner chuckled slyly: “The officials know that making a living on the streets isn’t easy, so they thought to lighten our burdens a bit.”

“In the taverns and tea houses, is it also one pot of wine for one question?”

“What kind of people do you take us for!”

The tea lookout owner replied sternly: “In the taverns, naturally after ordering wine and dishes, the server will chat clearly and thoroughly, of course.”