Perhaps Luo Chen Was Right

At some point, cultivators had begun appearing in small groups across the vast boat mooring field. Their attire varied, yet each bore distinct insignia. In other words, they were divided among three factions, each wearing unified emblems. This mooring field appeared to be jointly operated by three different groups. Lu Rong's Divine Craft Sect was one of them. Cultivators from the other two factions stood at a distance, craning their necks as if watching a good show. Meanwhile, behind Luo Chen, Nangong Jin and Li Yixian had quietly walked up. Looking at Lu Rong, Luo Chen let out a cold snort. "We parked here out of respect for local customs, wishing to avoid trouble. "Yet the moment we landed, without a word of explanation, you came forward insisting on washing and repairing our boat. "Let me ask you then: what are your rates? "Without clearly marked prices or prior notification, if you washed our flying boat and slapped us with a bill for ten thousand spirit stones, what then? Ha!" Confronted by Luo Chen's questioning, Lu Rong's expression shifted slightly. Then, he swung his palm out. *Smack!* A bright red handprint blossomed across Xu Xiaoliu's left cheek. "Xiaoliu, look at what you've done! "On the way here, didn't you tell this... how should I address you?" Lu Rong paused, looking toward Luo Chen. Luo Chen snorted softly. "I am Danchenzi." *Giving a Daoist title instead of his real name?* Lu Rong frowned, then swung his backhand across. "Why didn't you explain everything clearly to Senior Danchenzi on the way here?!" *Smack!* A bright red handprint appeared on Xu Xiaoliu's right cheek as well. Now, at least, both sides were symmetrical. This display left the Qi Refinement cultivators of the Luotian Association, the Li family, and the Nangong family—who had just disembarked—completely dumbfounded. Some even glared with indignation. How could someone treat a person with such blatant disrespect? "Enough. If you have business, state it plainly. Drop the theatrics," Luo Chen said impatiently. Lu Rong gave a sly chuckle and rubbed his fingers, as if slapping someone else's face had hurt his own hand instead. "Fellow Daoist Danchenzi, please don't be angry. This truly was an oversight on our part. "Rest assured, we treat all customers fairly—young and old alike—and never swindle anyone!" *Never swindle anyone?* *If we had actually let your hands touch our boat just now, you could have charged whatever amount of spirit stones you pleased.* Luo Chen sneered inward, though he smoothly relaxed his facial expression. "As for washing the boat, our rates depend on its size. For vessels under three zhang, it's one spirit stone each time. For those under ten zhang, five spirit stones. For a large vessel like yours, it will be fifty spirit stones per wash." Hearing that price, a commotion stirred among the Qi Refinement cultivators behind him. Faint murmurs arose: "Why don't they just rob us?" "This *is* robbery!" "That's almost enough to buy half a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills!" Li Yixian snapped her head around, glaring sharply. The ones causing the commotion were cultivators of her Li family. Accustomed to acting high and mighty in Dahe Market and having been well protected throughout the journey, they still acted so brashly upon reaching Tianlan Immortal City. Did they have no fear of inviting disaster? Turning back to the Luotian Association cultivators, every one of them kept their mouths firmly shut, their eyes fixed respectfully on Luo Chen's back. Even the Nangong family cultivators stood solemn and silent, not daring to utter a word. Under Li Yixian's glare, the unrest finally subsided. Acting as if he had heard nothing, Lu Rong chuckled and said, "Rest assured, it's not as simple as tossing a basic Water Ball Art at it! "A flying boat is an artifact, after all. It suffers erosion from all sorts of elements, and if handled poorly, critical components can easily be damaged. "You might not notice it day to day, but when a crucial moment comes, it could spell catastrophe. "Our cleaning process works from the outside in. We use the Water Mirror Art to oversee the entire operation, supported by the Cleansing Art, Water Ball Art, Dust-Removing Art... and our sect's exclusive spiritual solution. "Once cleaned, we guarantee it will be spotless, leaving no trace of grime!" He held up his open hand, five fingers splayed. Beside him, Xu Xiaoliu could not help shuddering. "Fifty? It's really not expensive at all!" Lu Rong waved his splayed hand. *If you're talking, just talk. What's with all the dramatic hand gestures?* Luo Chen asked, "And what about repairs?" The Heavenly Eagle flying boat had endured endless strain along the way and was nearly falling apart. If it wasn't overly expensive, he might genuinely consider it. Duan Feng excelled in forging artifacts. When it came to repairs, he possessed considerable knowledge of low- and mid-grade artifacts, but his skill with high-grade artifacts was rather ordinary. A flying boat was a large-scale artifact, comparable in cost to defensive artifacts of the same tier. Its repair difficulty was several times higher. All along the road, they had merely patched it together; it could hardly be called true repair. Lu Rong grinned! Carrying his long pipe, he walked up to the Heavenly Eagle flying boat. He tapped here, knocked there, occasionally extending his spiritual sense inside to inspect the interior. Finally, with a face beaming like a sunflower, he walked back. "I'll be blunt!" "This flying boat of yours is a product of Tianfan City from two hundred years ago. It has long become obsolete. "Some of the materials used in it are rarely seen nowadays. To repair it, we would have to spend immense effort searching for replacement materials. "As for the formations, they're an utter mess. I've taken a look—the formations themselves are well arranged, but they are not suited for flying boat artifacts, making them neither fish nor fowl." These words caused Min Longyu's weathered face to flush bright red. The formations he had labored so painstakingly to erect had just been dismissed as an ill-fitting botch job by a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. "I made a rough estimate." Lu Rong held up his hand, sticking up four fingers. Xu Xiaoliu's body trembled once more. "Four thousand! If you want it completely restored, it will take at least four thousand spirit stones! "Fellow Daoist Danchenzi, I haven't inflated this price by a single copper!" With that, he looked at Luo Chen expectantly. "Haha!" Luo Chen laughed. He laughed out of sheer exasperation! With just a few hundred more spirit stones added to that sum, one could purchase an entirely new, high-grade, large flying boat. This Lu Rong truly took them for fat sheep from the countryside, ripe for the slaughter! Seeing Luo Chen laugh, Lu Rong's eyes lit up. "Fellow Daoist, what do you say?" "No wash!" "Huh?" "And no repairs!" "Er!" The smile vanished from Lu Rong's face. "Fellow Daoist, it seems you are making fun of me." Luo Chen also wiped the smile from his face. "That Ice Fort cultivator guarding the gate merely told us to moor our boat here. He never said washing or repairing it was mandatory." Lu Rong opened his mouth, only to end up laughing in fury. Too disdainful to argue with Luo Chen, he walked back to the sunshade awning, sat down, and began puffing on his pipe. Luo Chen glanced at him, then turned his gaze toward Xu Xiaoliu. "What are the fees for mooring the boat?" Xu Xiaoliu was no longer as lively as before. He answered timidly, "For a large flying boat like yours, the mooring fee is one low-grade spirit stone per day." "Is there a time limit?" "Yes. Beyond one month, the price doubles." "How can we be certain none of your people will dismantle our valuable materials?" "The management of Tianlan City has installed projection walls here to maintain full surveillance. If valuable materials are truly stolen, the law enforcement squad of Tianlan City will track down the thief and impose severe punishment." "And what if the boat is destroyed?" "That... probably won't happen!" "Very well. We'll pay for ten days first!" As soon as Luo Chen finished speaking, Sima Huiniang stepped forward and handed ten spirit stones to Xu Xiaoliu. "Ten days for us as well!" "Our side too." Cultivators from the Li family and Nangong family promptly produced their spirit stones. Taking the stones, Xu Xiaoliu scurried toward a small pavilion on the mooring field. A moment later, he returned holding three tallies that looked neither entirely like wood nor entirely like iron. "These are mooring tallies. You can settle your mooring fees with them when you leave." With that, he stepped aside with utmost deference, waiting for Luo Chen and the others to depart. Unexpectedly, Luo Chen looked at him from a short distance away. "We happen to need a guide. Are you interested in earning a tip?" Xu Xiaoliu was taken aback, then eagerly trotted over. Luo Chen smiled faintly, cast an imperceptible glance toward Lu Rong, and led his people away. After they left, cultivators from the faction across from the Divine Craft Sect broke into mocking laughter. "Lu Rong, that was quite the embarrassment!" "Piss off!" "Fellow Daoist Lu Rong, you ought to conduct business properly. How can you try to skin everyone you see? If you ask me, had you spoken reasonably, you might have landed a deal." "Screw you!" With a sullen expression, Lu Rong glared in the direction Luo Chen and his group had gone. "Damn it, a bunch of country paupers. You couldn't squeeze two ounces of oil out of them." He took a deep drag on his pipe, slowly drawing the smoke back into his lungs. His roving gaze settled onto the Heavenly Eagle flying boat, which had only just come to rest. A sinister glint flickered across the corner of his mouth. *** "What a rip-off!" "Indeed. Just mooring a flying boat costs a spirit stone every day." "The mooring fee isn't so bad. A large flying boat like that can't fit into an ordinary storage bag, and since we don't have a place to stay yet, paying a little fee is just like hiring someone to look after it. What was truly outrageous was the price for washing and repairing it." "Tch, they really thought we were country bumpkins from the sticks, trying to slaughter us right off the bat." "Qian Tong, you'd better keep your mouth shut. Back when the Dao Discussion Platform opened in Dahe Market, didn't you ruthlessly fleece outsiders like us too?" "Tsk, what are you saying? That was then, this is now. We're all brothers now!" "If you ask me, our guild master is still the one with foresight. He saw right through them as scoundrels at a glance!" "True enough. When I saw that crowd rushing over to help wash our boat, I was actually pretty pleased at first." "Following the guild master never goes wrong; he's never let us suffer a loss." "I wonder where we're going to stay next, and what we'll do in the future." "Why worry so much right now? Let's just enjoy the sights of a major immortal city first!" "Yeah, just looking at it from afar was breathtaking. Who knows what it looks like inside?" Murmurs and chatter rippled constantly from behind. Luo Chen acted as though he heard nothing. As he walked, he looked at Xu Xiaoliu with a faint, knowing smile. "Xiaoliu, helping outsiders fleece me like that wasn't very honorable, was it?" *Outsiders?* *Aren't you the outsider here?!* Xu Xiaoliu swallowed hard, saying in terror, "Senior, I was wrong! Please don't kill me—my uncle is an Ice Fort cultivator!" "Your uncle? That old ninth-layer Qi Refinement man guarding the gate?" "Yes, yes, yes!" He nodded like a pecking chick, terrified that Luo Chen might be harboring murderous intent. "Are you an Ice Fort cultivator?" "No." "A rogue cultivator?" "Yes, yes." Nodding repeatedly, Xu Xiaoliu suddenly came to his senses. "Senior, why didn't you assume I was from the Divine Craft Sect?" Luo Chen gestured with his chin. "Look at your clothes." Xu Xiaoliu glanced down at his plain white robe and was instantly enlightened. His attire was indeed entirely different from the Divine Craft Sect's uniform. Luo Chen gave a soft chuckle. His judgment that Xu Xiaoliu was not a disciple of the Divine Craft Sect had not been based on clothing alone. There were also certain characteristics on the hands. The disciples of the Divine Craft Sect had thick calluses on their palms, and their entire bodies gave off a distinct aroma. It was likely from the exclusive spiritual solution they soaked in day after day while washing flying boats. Ever since his Cleansing Art reached the Great Perfection, he had become extraordinarily sensitive to such scents. It was more than enough to make a deduction. "Logically speaking, if your uncle is an Ice Fort disciple, Lu Rong shouldn't have humiliated you so brazenly in front of everyone." Without waiting for Xu Xiaoliu to reply, Luo Chen asked curiously, "So, how much did they offer you to work so hard drumming up customers and helping them fleece folks?" Xu Xiaoliu scratched his head in embarrassment. "Ten percent." "Ten percent of the profit?" "No, ten percent of the total charge." "No wonder!" Luo Chen was enlightened. "If that deal had succeeded, you would have pocketed several hundred spirit stones from my boat alone. All you had to do was run a few errands. Even if it failed, you only took two slaps." Xu Xiaoliu puffed out his chest. "I'm worth that price!" "How so?" Xu Xiaoliu said with confidence, "I grew up in Tianlan Immortal City and know this place like the back of my hand. Furthermore, my uncle is the Ice Fort disciple stationed on duty for this ten-year shift, so naturally they give me this kind of cut." Luo Chen smiled faintly. *Just as I thought!* With a guide like this, he could avoid countless troubles down the line. Min Longyu had been away from Tianlan Immortal City for too long; the situation here shifted by the day, making it impossible for him to know everything. A local snake like Xu Xiaoliu, who had the audacity to swindle outsiders, was precisely the kind of guide he needed. "Will you pull any more little tricks on us from here on out?" Xu Xiaoliu shook his head vigorously. How could he possibly dare? This senior was clearly nothing like those gullible country bumpkins from rural cultivation clans. He was exceedingly shrewd! Moreover, he neither put on airs nor showed weakness. In his brief back-and-forth with Lu Rong, he had completely unraveled the mooring field's situation. In the end, without suffering the slightest loss, he had walked away with utter poise. "What is the story behind this Divine Craft Sect?" "Bah, what story could there be? Just a motley crew of two or three stray cats. They managed to obtain a small forging inheritance, then spent some money to grease the right palms, securing themselves a tiny business at the mooring field and inside the city. I only went along with them because..." "Go into detail!" "Er, within their sect, there are three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators in total, taking turns..." *** Before they knew it, they had arrived outside the city moat once more. "Senior, are all of you planning to enter the city?" Luo Chen gave a natural grunt of affirmation. Xu Xiaoliu scratched his head. "Entering the city costs one spirit stone per person. And you can only stay for one day; if you leave and enter again, you must pay another spirit stone. It gets rather expensive!" He couldn't quite tell whether Luo Chen was wealthy or strapped for cash. After all, back at the mooring field, the man hadn't even been willing to spare the money to wash his boat. Yet judging by his clothes and bearing, he hardly seemed destitute. Luo Chen smiled and called Sima Huiniang over. She then took Xu Xiaoliu to pay the spirit stones. Li Yixian and Nangong Jin walked up beside him. "Luo Chen, was it really wise to strip Lu Rong of face like that earlier?" Nangong Jin asked worriedly. Luo Chen glanced at him, then looked toward Li Yixian. "Do you share that sentiment?" Li Yixian hesitated, then nodded gently. However, Luo Chen merely sneered. "He was the one playing petty tricks first. What does it matter if I stripped him of face? "Does coming from out of town mean we must bow our heads and act inferior? "Besides, when conducting business, face is the cheapest commodity. If he dares to cause trouble over mere face, he won't be in business much longer!" Li Yixian felt a jolt in her heart. Nangong Jin, however, was reminded of Luo Chen's rise back in Dahe Market. Crushing the allied forces of the Great River Gang and the Xuanyi Society! Exterminating the Fu family to establish authority! Surrounded on all sides by enemies, he had conquered Mount Xiaohuan and subdued the Duan family, seizing an opportunity to stand on equal footing with the Foundation Establishment factions. And it was precisely by seizing that opening that he had gained the time and space to reach Foundation Establishment with composure. Clearly, Luo Chen was never one to resign himself to subjugation. Yet that was then, and this was now! Nangong Jin sighed. "We are unfamiliar with this place, after all. What if we offend someone we shouldn't have..." "Could someone who can only scrape for scraps at a mooring field truly be someone we can't afford to offend?" Luo Chen looked at him coldly. Li Yixian said hesitantly, "I've heard that there are also those who act like dogs relying on their master's might, using the land to make a fortune." "Then his master's might isn't much to begin with, considering three separate factions have to fight over the same trough!" Luo Chen snorted coldly. At that mooring field, Lu Rong was far from the only power. Looking at the two of them fretting over potential gains and losses, Luo Chen could not help shaking his head. They had once been the heads of two prominent Foundation Establishment cultivation families in Dahe Market. How high and mighty they had stood back then. Yet simply changing locations had turned them so timid and fearful. He acknowledged that arriving in an unfamiliar land demanded low-key prudence. However, one could not be so low-key that when someone held a blade to their throat, ready to carve them up, they simply endured it in silence. That was not cultivating immortality. That was cultivating cowardice! *What I seek is free and unrestrained longevity, not the longevity of a thousand-year terrapin or a ten-thousand-year turtle!* Silently resolving this in his heart, Luo Chen brushed past the two of them to find Sima Huiniang. Behind him, Nangong Jin let out a sudden sigh. He recalled the scene when the Bai family had led a band of Liuguang Market bandits against them. Back then, had he not struck back maniacally, willing to drag everyone down in mutual destruction, the Nangong family would likely have been wiped from existence long ago. "Perhaps... Luo Chen was right to do that!" Li Yixian opened her mouth, but found no words to say. Ever since leaving Dahe Market, she had discovered more and more of her own shortcomings. A lack of initiative, an absence of strategy. No foresight, and no ability to command subordinates. Everything felt as if she were merely taking one blind step at a time. *Can someone like me truly lead the Li family to survive in Tianlan Immortal City?* Asking her own heart, she found no answer. Before her eyes, the scene of the Fu family's destruction seemed to resurface. That had been a cultivation family forced out of Tianlan Immortal City, only to meet its demise in Dahe Market. Had the cause of their demise truly been the absence of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator? Perhaps not necessarily!