Wanbao House

Li Chunfeng cut straight to the chase. He fished a rectangular wooden plaque out of his pocket and tossed it over with a flick of his wrist. Zhang Yuanqing caught it and looked closely. The wooden plaque was coated in black lacquer; on the front were four characters reading "May wealth come pouring in," and carved on the back were patterns resembling runes or incantations. Holding the item for several seconds, its item profile surfaced: [Name: Wanbao House Token] [Type: Consumable] [Function: Passage] [Description: A powerful artificer opened a small shop named "Wanbao House." This token serves as the pass to enter.] [Note: As everyone knows, consumables come with no drawbacks—except their price.] There was nothing special about the token itself, but its attributes gave Zhang Yuanqing pause. Grasping the token, he pondered for a long while before asking, "Do items crafted by artificers all have to be registered and backed up by the Spirit Realm to receive item attributes?" Li Chunfeng replied flatly, "Once I reach the Dominator Realm, I'll be sure to answer your question." Zhang Yuanqing asked for the address of Wanbao House, then ventured, "I'd like to get a sense of this artificer's personality, so I don't say the wrong thing, make a mistake, and cause unnecessary trouble." "If anyone else said that, I'd believe them." Li Chunfeng pushed up his glasses and curled his lip. "When it comes to social maneuvering, you're the slickest operator I've ever seen. Even if you say or do something wrong, you'll just drop to your knees and kowtow, and problem solved. Think about it: a kowtow from the genius Yuanshi Tianzun, a man with the makings of an Alliance Leader—even a Dominator would feel deeply honored and forgive you." "Are you mocking me?" Zhang Yuanqing gave him a sideways glance. "I'm envying you." "Envying my social skills?" "No, envying your shamelessness." "..." Li Chunfeng stopped bantering. After pondering for a few seconds, he said, "She has an eccentric temperament—does whatever she pleases, fiercely idiosyncratic. To her, order and goodness, chaos and evil, are all the same. "She acts entirely on whim. She might champion justice over something she finds distasteful and not care how high a price she pays. Or she might destroy a city in a fit of rage without batting an eye at how many innocents die." "Chaotic Neutral!" Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "What about hobbies?" "Smoking cigars," Li Chunfeng answered. *A bit of an unusual hobby. I'll have to sneak a few boxes of top-grade cigars from Fu Qingyang's collection cabinet later... Lian Sanyue's personality might be Chaotic Neutral, but the fact that she belongs to an orthodox class means her chaotic tendencies are likely on the milder side,* Zhang Yuanqing mused. His body dissolved into a dreamy starlight, escaping into the grand villa next door. *** Soup-Brewing Province, Du. At eleven in the morning at the airport, Zhang Yuanqing—wearing a baseball cap and a mask, carrying a backpack, and holding a vacuum-sealed bag of braised chicken, with Blood Rose by his side—followed the signs through the crowded arrivals hall to the entrance of the P1 underground parking garage, their agreed meeting spot. From quite a distance away, he spotted Brother Red Chicken—who stood at 1.7 meters tall and whose looks were just as unremarkable as his height. He was wearing baggy shorts, a white undershirt, and a pair of slippers, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and his hands shoved into his pockets as his gaze swept through the crowd. Behind him stood over a dozen men clad in black suits and sunglasses, standing ramrod straight with solemn expressions. Passersby turned to stare again and again, probably assuming a movie was being filmed. *What is this guy trying to pull?* Zhang Yuanqing immediately had a bad feeling and stopped in his tracks. Just then, the sharp-eyed Brother Red Chicken spotted Zhang Yuanqing—who stood out amidst the sea of people like a firefly. He broke into hearty laughter and came forward with open arms. "Boss, over here, over here!" Zhang Yuanqing had no choice but to brace his expression and walk over, putting on a hearty laugh of his own. "Brother Red Chicken!" The two shared an enthusiastic hug. Brother Red Chicken stepped back and turned to the men in black behind him. "Pay your respects already!" The two rows of men in black suits and dark glasses bowed in unison and boomed, "Greetings, Tianzun!" Their voices were loud and unified, echoing through the hall. The surroundings fell dead silent. Dense crowds of passersby stopped in shock and turned their eyes toward them. A few quietly pulled out their phones. Zhang Yuanqing nearly buried his face in his hands and fled. Before coming, he had contacted Brother Red Chicken, saying he would arrive in Soup-Brewing Province's Du at noon tomorrow. Upon hearing this, Brother Red Chicken had been overjoyed, declaring that since Yuanshi Tianzun was honoring them with his presence, he would definitely make arrangements and throw a grand welcome ceremony. Zhang Yuanqing never imagined it would be like this. *This is your idea of a grand welcome?* he thought. *Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm filming some melodramatic urban power-fantasy soap opera.* "How about that? Impressive, right?" Brother Red Chicken chuckled. "Besides, it fits what ordinary people expect of a syndicate, though we're actually very low-profile." Zhang Yuanqing forced a smile. "I love it. Brother Red Chicken, you really outdid yourself. Come on, let's go grab some soup." *Let's get out of here, fast!* Surrounded by the crowd of men in black, Zhang Yuanqing and Brother Red Chicken stepped into a gleaming black business MPV. Once the vehicle drove smoothly and swiftly out of the underground parking garage, Zhang Yuanqing handed over the gift he had brought. "I know you folks in Soup-Brewing Province love chicken, so I specially picked this up as a meeting gift." "Braised chicken..." Brother Red Chicken said with a strained expression. "This isn't fresh." When it came to the freshness of ingredients, the people of Soup-Brewing Province had their principles and bottom lines. Zhang Yuanqing laughed loudly. "Then I'll definitely have to taste some fresh chicken soup!" The awkward topic was brushed aside in an instant. Brother Red Chicken immediately thumped his chest. "I'll make sure you're satisfied, Boss! Over the next few days, I'll take you to taste every delicacy Du has to offer." *As long as it's not fried cockroaches... and Fujianese people won't be necessary either...* Zhang Yuanqing thought dryly, before turning serious. "I came to Du on serious business this time. You're the local heavyweight here, Brother Red Chicken—have you heard of 'Wanbao House'?" This was the primary reason he had contacted Brother Red Chicken. "Wanbao House..." The smile faded from Brother Red Chicken's face. He said, "Now that's quite a place. It's Du's largest item-trading hub, biggest black market, and top intelligence distribution center. A few years back, I went there once with Elder Jiangbao. I remember you need a token to get into Wanbao House." "What Elder?" Zhang Yuanqing wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him. He could hardly believe anyone would choose an ID like that. "Elder Jiangbao is the top boss of the Du branch! In his youth, he ran with the gangs. Ten or twenty years ago, anyone in the underworld of Soup-Brewing Province knew the big name of Jiangbao, boss of Du's Black Dragon Syndicate. A top boss is always a top boss, no matter where he goes. My old man used to fight alongside him to conquer the streets, and later took a blade for him and kicked the bucket." Brother Red Chicken continued, "When the Five Elements Alliance was founded back then, recruiting talent everywhere to set up branch offices, Uncle Jiangbao went legit and became an Elder of the Du branch." Zhang Yuanqing uttered an "Oh." "Those turbulent years must have been quite something. Brother Red Chicken, I want to know more details about Wanbao House." Brother Red Chicken nodded and said, "The owner of Wanbao House is a woman who calls herself Lian Sanyue. She's an artificer, though I don't know her exact level—maybe Level 7, maybe Level 8. Wanbao House is the biggest item-trading hub, as well as the largest intelligence center and black market. "Not only are there orthodox classes in there, but evil classes as well. It's hard to imagine, but two factions that would normally fight to the death on sight outside coexist peacefully inside Wanbao House. "That's because Lian Sanyue has huge backing. Besides being a Dominator herself, she has the Zhao family behind her, so the Du branch gives her face." "The Zhao family? One of the three Scholar families?" Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help interrupting. Brother Red Chicken nodded. "I don't know Lian Sanyue that well, but she strikes me as rather moody and unpredictable. The kind of person who's laughing and chatting with you one second, and hacking at you with a blade the next. "But she does have one strong suit: she's extremely trustworthy. If you want to do business with her, you can rest easy." *She does business with orthodox and evil classes alike, yet maintains an impeccable reputation... No wonder Brother Bing consulted her back then on methods to suppress the Holy Grail's corruption...* Zhang Yuanqing now had a clearer picture. After having lunch hosted by Brother Red Chicken, Zhang Yuanqing drove a sports car borrowed from him and arrived at his destination at two in the afternoon. Wanbao House was located in an old district of Du, dominated by run-down three- to four-story buildings. The alleys were narrow and shabby, crowded with people, and bicycles, electric scooters, and tricycles could be seen at every turn. Not a single suited corporate elite was in sight; peddlers and laborers were everywhere. Zhang Yuanqing put on the Disguise Ring, disguising himself as a passerby he had seen a few minutes earlier. Following the route Brother Red Chicken had given him, he twisted and turned through the shabby alleys and came to a stop in front of a modest little convenience store. The old-fashioned sliding iron door was covered in rust and firmly shut. On the signboard above the entrance hung the name: Wanbao House! "An illusion?" Zhang Yuanqing saw through the illusion at a glance. The door to the convenience store was actually wide open, yet to ordinary eyes, it appeared firmly closed. This was likely the shop owner's screening mechanism for customers; low-level Spirit Realm walkers who couldn't see through the illusion and ordinary mortals would be filtered out. Glancing left and right to make sure no one was around, he brought Blood Rose along and "stepped" straight through the door. In Zhang Yuanqing's original plan, he had intended to let Blood Rose scout ahead first, which would be safer. However, after learning about Lian Sanyue's modus operandi from Li Chunfeng and Brother Red Chicken, he felt there was no need to be overly cautious. Of course, he came this time solely to seek an item and gain a deeper understanding of Lian Sanyue; he wouldn't inquire about Brother Bing. Li Chunfeng would certainly report Yuanshi Tianzun's upcoming visit to Wanbao House to Lian Sanyue. If he asked for clues about Brother Bing at such a time, he would arouse suspicion even in disguise. As long as he confirmed Lian Sanyue was here, clues about Brother Bing could be pursued at a steady pace later. Stepping inside Wanbao House, what presented itself before him was a shop piled high with various sundries, reminiscent of a hardware store. Three rows of shelves stood inside, haphazardly lined with all sorts of implements and utensils. At the foot of the shelves lay numerous bulky materials and goods. *Why does this shop look so familiar? Have I been here before?* Zhang Yuanqing swept his gaze across the room before looking toward the checkout counter. Beside the counter sat a woman wearing a black bandeau top draped in a leather jacket. Her features were strikingly gorgeous and enchanting, with a deep languor lingering between her brows. Between her slender fingers was a slim cigarette, yet the air was thick with the scent of cigars. *It's her?!* Zhang Yuanqing's pupils shrank slightly, and he froze on the spot. He had seen this woman before—in Deacon Pang's memories! The vengeful dream spirit that had nearly killed him back then, the Murderess in White— Deacon Pang had purchased her from this very woman.