Chapter 241

Chapter 241: Decay, Oh Decay

The next day, Li Hui lay in the courtyard of the Fulin Tavern. Two young beauties were giving him a leg massage and shoulder rub, while a woman with light makeup played the zither across from him.

“Open your mouth, young master! I’ll feed you a grape,” one of the girls said while massaging his shoulders, also moonlighting as a fruit feeder. However, her youth meant she was far from matching someone else’s taste.

Li Hui lazily opened his mouth to eat the grape, feeling like he was almost melting away in the warm breeze. Suddenly, the sound of the zither rang out, waking him partly from his drowsiness. It turned out someone had approached him.

“Cough!” the newcomer cleared his throat, clasped his fists in greeting, and said, “Young master, greetings! I am the Chief Steward of Fulin Tavern; the owner asked me to inquire about the spirit talismans.”

Li Hui opened his eyes and nodded, replying, “Ah, so you are the Chief Steward. My apologies! Last night, I distributed some spirit talismans, with the highest quality reaching six-patterns. I still have a few in stock, which will certainly be better in quality and I plan to distribute them all. Please help me collect artifact fragments for exchange. As for treasure fragments, I’ll use this to trade.”

Before he finished speaking, a green jade bowl floated down onto the zither platform. The Chief Steward, clearly knowledgeable, exclaimed, “Heavenly marrow worm?”

“Yes, it is indeed the heavenly marrow worm,” Li Hui replied with a yawn. “This worm isn’t meant for initial stage Concentrating Spirit cultivators; it’s used for when one levels up to the Bosa stage, to enhance the depth of their spiritual sense. The trouble is, this kind of bizarre insect is hard to rear artificially. If it dies without proper storage, its potency greatly diminishes.”

Implying that he had no use for it and it was difficult to store, he was eager to sell it. With Fulin Tavern’s connections, finding a buyer would be no trouble. Li Hui wanted a good price, but he lacked channels for selling.

Fortunately, the first half-demon heavenly marrow worm had been painstakingly maintained by Yao’er, allowing for a significant transformation that made large-scale breeding possible. Selling off the worm’s remains would capitalize on its high value without significant delay.

“Young master, you wouldn’t only have these heavenly marrow worms, would you?” The Chief Steward felt excited. Initially reluctant to even regard a young boy, he cast aside all hesitations upon seeing such a rare insect, realizing the business potential.

“Many,” Li Hui said, squinting and smiling. “I need to see sincerity. I require a more detailed sea chart, someone to tailor clothes for me. The chefs in your tavern seem inadequate, so please send my own chef to take charge. I also expect exquisite spirit delicacies and fine wine. Deliver the artifact and treasure fragments to the ship; I plan to melt them down to modify the Wave Breaking Cone later.”

Look at the grandeur of his demands! Seeking a tailor, dismissing the tavern’s chefs, and relying on his personal chef, he wanted to collect fragments purely to reforge his ship. Yet, the Chief Steward, clearly eager for profit, quickly bowed and accepted the task.

“Ha ha! Human nature! Even without pretensions, my decay is still apparent,” Li Hui mused, “No matter, let me stride further on the carefree path! I desire luxurious clothing! I crave delicacies! Both must be mine for true enjoyment.”

“Young master, eat the bayberry.”

“Alas, your tavern is too stingy; go fetch some spirit fruits, charging the expenses to my tab.” Li Hui decisively took another step onto the path of decay.

“Understood!” The two young girls giggled as they lightly skipped off to fetch the spirit fruits. The zither-playing woman played a tune reminiscent of lofty mountains and flowing waters, her gaze filled with suspicion. Realizing she had become lost in thought, she quickly centered herself, slowly immersing back into the music.

Li Hui yawned, inwardly thinking, “Nothing new here! This zither player must hold a relatively high status, sent here to observe me closely. Perhaps she even altered her appearance, hiding her true identity behind heavy makeup. Not to mention that the Deputy Inspector General’s Seal provides disguise capabilities, and the treasure cabinet can conceal all breaths. Coupled with the monk fruit and Dragon Tail pattern, even if those behind this tavern appear, they won’t see through my disguise.”

On the surface, Li Hui seemed to have the initial stage of Gathering Spirit cultivation. However, if someone used a treasure for observing qi or a secret technique, they would sense his cultivation was at the mid-Gather Spirit stage. If they used spiritual sense for a hard scan, they would discover he was already at the late-Gather Spirit stage.

“By the way, I just remembered,” Li Hui interrupted the zither’s sound. “I need to collect spiritual materials with lightning and frost attributes, as well as some poisonous substances. Please pack them for delivery to the tavern; the heavenly marrow worms are plentiful.”

When calling the shots, one must go all out. With the low foot traffic on Paifeng Island and not much to explore on the streets, he preferred to lie in the tavern and order others around.

“You!” The woman was taken aback. This little brat dared to point fingers at her and couldn’t help but use a bit of alluring technique to teach him a small lesson.

“Boom…”

The next moment, nothing happened to Li Hui while the woman felt as if struck by lightning.

Fortunately, the ancient zither in her hands emitted a warning sound that freed her from the heavy illusions, causing her to sway and look toward the irritating brat lounging in the chair.

“Why are you glaring at me? With your looks, you aren’t even worthy to be a child bride; save your effort!” The words cut deep, almost making her spit blood in anger. She stomped her foot, pointing an accusing finger at Li Hui, “You, you little toad…”

What frustration! Such great frustration! This brat looked rather decent; unlike the usual annoying folks, she couldn’t go around saying he was just a toad dreaming of swan meat.

“You… I won’t play this zither anymore.” The woman turned to run, and Li Hui shouted after her, “Don’t forget what I asked for: spiritual materials with lightning, frost, and poison attributes, please gather them.”

Striking while the iron was hot, he watched as the woman stomped away, her anger evidently escalating!

“Alas! Who told me to be a high monk?” Li Hui felt helpless, thinking, “Using techniques like Heavenly Demon’s Illusions sparingly will lead to the Buddhist sect’s cultivation and the Jade Heart of the Earth Court working together to exorcise evil. They are always on guard against the monk fruit, while the dangers of the monk fruit make all other shady tricks meaningless.”

“I don’t know who the zither player will complain to, and those two young beauties have been gone for a while. If they would poison the spirit fruits… that would be so naive. It’s better if the poison is strong, though; Chongguang has just started to get hungry and even dares to complain with the heavy-scaled fellows.”

After a while, an array of exquisite food, wine, spirit fruits, and spiritual materials appeared like a flowing stream, and the tailor also arrived. The Chief Steward’s efficiency was commendable; he deserved a thumbs up for his work.

Li Hui continued his decadent ways, doing what a young master would do, becoming bored after two days of play like chick fighting, dog fighting, or cricket fighting. He laughed and cursed freely, saying whatever he wanted.

Slowly, his state of mind became calm, as he napped all day long until ten days later, when the ground trembled, signaling the arrival of someone.

“Ha ha, my friend, you are remarkable! You’ve actually managed to make my precious daughter cry so much for the first time since her birth. Truly, a fitting match for you two!” The voice sounded robust, but a hint of demonic energy leaked out, indicating a thunderous strike was coming.

Li Hui reacted quickly and quickly bowed, saying, “I, your son-in-law, greet you, respected father-in-law! I also think I match well with your daughter. To this day, I still relish the sound of the zither. May I ask where my fiancée is at this moment?”

The visitor found himself caught off guard, thinking, "Who taught this thick-skinned brat? All he thinks about is these pleasant things. I’ve already investigated thoroughly; he won’t get away so easily."