Chapter 364

Chapter 364: Pleasing

The atmosphere in the private booth on the fourth floor was so tense it seemed almost tangible.

A group of elite young men from the families of Lian City, nearly ten Purple Palace cultivators, had all fallen silent, not daring to take a breath, fearing they might attract trouble.

Their true nature was far from this. Usually, they were all proud and arrogant individuals, and besides fearing the higher-ups like Young Master Wang and Wang Wu, they dismissed everyone else.

Among them stood Lu Pengze, a standout!

He had exceptional talent, once an Outer Sect Disciple of the West Sea Sect, and had broken through to open a house ten years ago. He was regarded as the first heir of the Lu family, with a limitless future ahead.

However, this once-arrogant favored son of heaven was now bowing down and awkwardly smiling as he apologized.

This servile demeanor made those present want to scrape together three bedrooms and two halls with their toes in embarrassment.

Some naive ones felt disgusted or disdainful inside.

Lu Pengze was such a remarkable figure, yet he seemed to be all talk—when faced with reality, his true self was exposed.

What these people didn’t realize was the fear and shock that filled Lu Pengze’s heart at that moment.

Having been with the West Sea Sect before, he was most aware of what it meant to be an inner sect disciple!

What made Lu Pengze feel like crying without tears was that he had just insulted Wang Chen.

For this alone, if Wang Chen chose to kill him, he wouldn’t be able to fight back and would be left to flee in disgrace.

And after running away, he would have to live on the run until he returned home, only to be forced by his elders to apologize to Wang Chen.

He would be at their mercy!

If not, the entire Lu family would face disaster.

“A misunderstanding?”

Wang Chen smiled and said, “The wandering frog once said, between men, there are only fortunate encounters and no misunderstandings!”

Lu Pengze didn’t know who the “wandering frog” was, but it didn’t stop him from understanding the meaning of the words. His eyelid twitched as he lowered his voice, saying, “Brother, I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

“Tomorrow at noon, I will host a banquet at Lian Tai to apologize. I hope Brother will accept my invitation.”

Lian Tai was the highest-rated tavern in Lian City, and its heavenly dishes had been praised by a true immortal.

However, the entrance fee for Lian Tai was extremely high, and ordinary people couldn’t step inside; the private rooms were booked for years ahead.

If Lu Pengze could host a banquet at Lian Tai to apologize to Wang Chen tomorrow, it undoubtedly meant he would have to pay a hefty price.

In comparison, the price of the heavenly dishes at Lian Tai was nothing.

But Wang Chen remained unmoved: “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

“Indeed!”

Lu Pengze suddenly realized and immediately leaped out of the booth, landing steadily on the stage.

He respectfully bowed to the stunned Miss Lian, saying, “Miss Lian, I, Lu, spoke rudely earlier. Please forgive me!”

Saying this, he raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face: “I’ll shut this wretched mouth!”

The guests upstairs and downstairs were all left dumbfounded.

This was Lu Pengze of the Lu family, a proper Purple Palace master, yet he was apologizing to a lowly maiden by slapping himself!

Lu Pengze was ruthless to others and equally ruthless to himself!

Miss Lian panicked, waving her hands repeatedly, "No, no need…"

Lu Pengze suddenly seemed to remember something: "Ah, yes!"

He waved his hand and tossed out a storage bag, declaring, "I wish to purchase ten purple flower pins for Miss Lian!"

Each purple flower pin cost ten thousand spirit stones, so ten would amount to one hundred thousand spirit stones!

A manager from The Spring Pavilion quickly reacted, grabbing the storage bag without even opening it, and announced loudly, "Young Master Lu presents Miss Lian with ten purple flower pins!"

As the ten purple flower pins were bestowed, Miss Lian’s phoenix soared high into the sky.

It just barely surpassed Xiao Qiao and Su Qing, placing it above all the songstresses who had performed!

"Then I’ll gift Miss Lian a gold pin!"

"Count me in!"

"Two pins!"

Lu Pengze’s companions in the fourth-floor booth suddenly sprang into action, eagerly purchasing pin after pin for Miss Lian.

This was to save Lu Pengze from further embarrassment and to curry favor with Wang Chen, the inner sect disciple of the West Sea Sect!

Following their lead, others in the room joined in.

Copper pins, silver pins, gold pins…

Though the total couldn’t match Lu Pengze’s ten purple flower pins, the sheer volume created a spectacular scene, with pins falling like rain, causing the phoenix to dart back and forth, chirping incessantly.

The atmosphere in The Spring Pavilion became lively and vibrant once again.

Eventually, even Young Master Wang and Wang Wu on the fifth floor tossed in a few gold pins for good measure.

Miss Lian’s phoenix climbed higher and higher, nearly touching the ceiling!

All the songstresses, whether they had performed or were yet to, were consumed by envy and jealousy.

It was clear to everyone that Miss Lian was the undisputed star of the evening.

She was set to earn well over a hundred thousand spirit stones!

Yet, she bore an ominous ghostly scar on her face!

As the atmosphere peaked, Wang Chen reached out to retrieve his jade token and said lightly, “Thank you, everyone.”

Miss Lian bowed deeply in his direction, tears streaming down her face.

This pitiful woman felt an overwhelming gratitude in her heart.

She knew why Wang Chen had come, so she steadied her emotions and sang a song with all her might.

She wanted to express her heartfelt thanks.

As Miss Lian’s emotional singing filled the air, Lu Pengze quietly slipped out of the hall.

The performances by the next few songstresses were lackluster, leaving the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

Tonight’s songstress gathering at the Hongxiu Brothel was destined for an anticlimactic end.

However, the events that unfolded during the competition would undoubtedly become a hot topic, spreading through various circles in Lian City.

Inside the booth, Little Guizi suddenly knelt on the floor and kowtowed three times before Wang Chen.

He said nothing but expressed his feelings through his actions.

Wang Chen acknowledged his respectful gesture and then said, “Please bring the leader of The Spring Pavilion and Miss Lian here.”

Since he had chosen to intervene, he wanted to ensure everything was thoroughly resolved.

Miss Lian and the leader of The Spring Pavilion quickly arrived at the booth.

Upon seeing Wang Chen, Miss Lian immediately attempted to kneel in greeting but was caught by Wang Chen.

He addressed the leader of The Spring Pavilion, saying, “I wish to redeem Miss Lian; name your price.”

The leader, a graceful middle-aged woman, heard his request and without hesitation produced a magical contract: “It’s a blessing for Miss Lian to catch the attention of a master. I am happy for her; consider this a dowry.”

Wang Chen took the contract and with a flick of his wrist, burned it to ashes, saying, “Very well.”

The leader then presented a storage bag: “This contains Miss Lian’s rightful reward as the chosen one.”

Even though the competition was not yet over, The Spring Pavilion was very considerate.

Wang Chen accepted it and placed it in his robe, saying, “You may leave now.”

The leader didn’t dare to say anything further, bowed respectfully, and then left the booth.

At that moment, Wang Chen pulled out another storage bag and handed it to Miss Lian, saying, “Take this and leave Lian City with Little Guizi.”