Chapter 362

Chapter 362: A Great Show (Part 1)

In the grand hall of The Spring Pavilion, celestial music wafted through the air, accompanied by a subtle, enchanting fragrance.

Phoenixes with resplendent, multicolored tail feathers circled gracefully above the stage, their movements perfectly synchronized with the melodies, occasionally emitting melodious calls.

Each phoenix bore a crimson nameplate around its neck, representing one of the thirty-six songstresses participating in that evening’s Hongxiu Brothel songstress gathering.

“Caiyue!”

“Xiao Qiao!”

“Jiaojiao!”

Guests seated in the boxes upstairs and downstairs, as well as those in the main hall, eagerly tossed out flower pins one after another.

The phoenix corresponding to the named songstress would swiftly dive down, deftly catching the flower pin in its beak before swallowing it into its crop.

The phoenixes possessed oval-shaped crops on their necks, a natural storage organ.

In the wild, phoenixes used their crops to store food, but these domesticated ones served as tools for tallying votes.

Once all the songstresses had performed, the one whose phoenix had collected the most flower pins would be crowned the season’s top courtesan!

The more flower pins a phoenix swallowed, the higher it soared, making the rankings instantly apparent.

The Spring Pavilion was packed that evening with guests eager to witness the competition, many of whom were patrons of the songstresses. They spent lavishly, purchasing flower pins with spirit stones and tossing them in abundance.

Their goal was to ensure their favored songstress claimed the top spot!

As each songstress took the stage in dazzling attire, the atmosphere grew increasingly electric. The number of flower pins being thrown surged, nearly overwhelming the phoenixes tasked with collecting them.

However, this was a minor issue, as the flower pins were categorized into different tiers: copper pins, silver pins, gold pins, jade pins, and purple pins.

Copper pins cost one spirit stone each, silver pins ten spirit stones, gold pins a hundred spirit stones…

When a wealthy patron tossed a jade pin, it propelled their favored songstress to the very top, eliciting gasps and cheers from the crowd.

In such a charged atmosphere, it was difficult for anyone to resist the urge to spend spirit stones.

Caught up in the excitement, many guests threw handfuls of spirit stones without a second thought.

Some were driven purely by rivalry.

At the moment, the top positions were held by Xiao Qiao from Mingyue Pavilion and Su Qing from Baihua Tower.

Their patrons occupied the east and west boxes on the fifth floor, locked in a fierce competition.

The number of flower pins they threw escalated rapidly, their rivalry growing increasingly intense!

“Miss Su Qing’s patron is Young Master Wang from the Wang family…”

In the third-floor box, Little Guizi, who was attending to Wang Chen, explained: “The Wang family of Lian City boasts a Golden Core true master and conducts extensive business. They own tens of thousands of acres of land and have built numerous houses and shops.”

Now that was true wealth!

Wang Chen nodded in acknowledgment.

Lian City was home to the South Domain Palace of the West Sea Sect, serving as the political, economic, and cultural hub of the southern region of the West Sea Spiritual Realm.

Since this immortal city was built over the vast lake, even though the methods of the immortals in constructing cities are unparalleled, such a city cannot just be easily expanded.

Although Wang Chen had just arrived in Lian City, he had gained a good understanding of the situation here.

Owning tens of thousands of acres of land in the precious Lian City certainly means wealth beyond measure.

No wonder Young Master Wang is so extravagant, tossing spirit stones like pebbles, throwing jade pins one after another without batting an eye.

“Young Master Wang’s rival is Wang Wu.”

Little Guizi continued explaining, “The Wang Family in Lian City was once quite wealthy; it’s said that their ancestors produced true immortals, but now their influence doesn’t compare to that of the Wang Family.”

"My own family!"

Wang Chen raised an eyebrow. “Does this Wang Wu dare to compete with Young Master Wang?”

Little Guizi explained, “Wang Wu has an unruly temperament; he has always been unwilling to accept Young Master Wang’s dominance, and he really likes Su Qing. Recently, he has been visiting Baihua Tower every day.”

“Wait a minute.”

Wang Chen was puzzled. “Isn’t this Wang Wu supporting Xiao Qiao?”

“Exactly.”

Little Guizi laughed. “Because Young Master Wang has taken a liking to Su Qing and booked her for a month to listen to her music, Wang Wu can only show his own strength by supporting Xiao Qiao.”

“If he starts supporting Su Qing now, wouldn’t that be giving Young Master Wang a boost?”

Such thinking…

Wang Chen could only marvel at how strange the top rival was!

While the two were chatting, a languid voice suddenly floated down from the top floor: “Young Wu, your family earns spirit stones with difficulty. Are you squandering them like this? Does your father know?”

The sarcasm in that statement was thick; everyone in The Spring Pavilion could hear it loud and clear!

The previously heated atmosphere was suddenly paused.

Even the songstress performing on stage stumbled over her words.

Little Guizi said softly, “That would be Young Master Wang.”

After a moment, another voice came through: “Even if I’m poor, I won’t miss this small amount of spirit stones, and if you don’t speak, no one will think you’re dumb!”

“Ha!”

Young Master Wang scoffed. “How many spirit stones do you have in your pocket? I suggest you don’t force yourself.”

Wang Wu responded, “Hmph!”

The exchange between the two was fierce yet brief, and after trading a few insults, they coincidentally stopped throwing flower pins.

However, because of the greater number thrown earlier, the phoenixes representing Xiao Qiao and Su Qing remained at the top, still shining brightly above all others!

At this point, many understood that the crown of the evening would undoubtedly be decided between the two songstresses.

No one else had a chance.

The performance continued on stage, but the atmosphere had calmed significantly.

Perhaps affected by the tension, the songstress made a series of mistakes, drawing a few chuckles from the audience.

She ended up leaving the stage in tears.

Little Guizi sighed, “Starting tonight, her value will at least drop by half.”

When someone cannot hold up the situation in critical moments, their reputation naturally suffers.

At that moment, another songstress stepped onto the stage.

“Miss Lian!”

Little Guizi immediately became excited. “Miss Lian is making her entrance!”

He held tightly onto the sandalwood chair in front of him, gripping it so hard that he almost crushed the backrest.

Although Wang Chen had listened to Miss Lian’s music before, he had never seen her; this time he finally laid eyes on her.

She wore a long white dress, with a veil covering her face, and she held a guqin, gracefully bowing to the audience.

“Miss Lian of The Spring Pavilion invites your guidance.”

Miss Lian sat down at the table, placed the guqin before her, took a deep breath, and began to play.

Her skill was undoubtedly the most outstanding among all the previous songstresses; her fingers danced over the strings in a way that captivated everyone, flowing like clouds and water.

Wang Chen nodded unconsciously.

That opening piece was worth the trip to attend the songstress gathering tonight.

Wang Chen waved his sleeve, and Instant a pile of spirit stones appeared on the table.

“Please exchange these for flower pins.”

He said to Little Guizi, “Let’s throw them all to Miss Lian!”

Although Miss Lian had previously said not to toss flowers, after hearing her music, Wang Chen felt too embarrassed to be stingy.

It was only polite to show some support.