Chapter 44: Wealth Monster is Back and I’d like to Book the Entire Pavilion

Yu Liang opened the doors of the Mystic Pavilion. He felt a sense of familiarity from the smell of medicinal plants and burning incense. The first floor was full of activities. There were many disciples and merchants browsing among the items on display.

Mei Hua lifted her head from assisting a cultivator, and her eyes widened. She immediately knew who it was when she saw him and smiled professionally. She excused herself and walked towards him.

"Young Master," she said with a bow. "Welcome back to the Mystic Pavilion. How can I help you today?"

Neither of them spoke about the promise he had made.

Yu Liang responded in kind. "I would like to look around upper floors as I am in search of body cultivation techniques and maybe some manuals on that too."

"Of course. Please follow me—"

"Excuse me," a voice snapped, sounding very annoyed.

Yu Liang looked around. There stood a young man. His clothes were luxurious. They were too flashy, being made of deep purple silk, embroidered with golden thread that glistened excessively. His hair was greased and neatly brushed. There were multiple jade bracelets on his hands. All in all this was a person who wished to show everybody he had money.

He sized up Yu Liang. His lip curled up. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Body cultivation materials? That is hilarious." He turned to look at Mei Hua. "This is the kind of client that the Mystic Pavilion accepts nowadays?"

Mei Hua kept a professional face but her voice was firm. "All customers are welcome here, young master Zhao."

Zhao snorted. "Body training? Such a waste of time. We all know that it is a path for those who lack the ability to train Qi so they just practice it." Zhao gestured to Yu Liang. "Guess what, you want to purchase some materials to help you out with your poor talent or maybe foundation? How much would it cost? One thousand stones? Two thousand?"

Yu Liang said nothing. He stayed calm.

Zhao’s smirked even wider. "I thought so. Well, let me not hold you up from your humble shopping. Some of us people do have serious things to purchase."

He walked away. Nodded to another attendant. Yu Liang watched as he left then looked at Mei Hua.

"Actually," Yu Liang said, his voice staying the same "I have a request."

Mei Hua bowed her head. "Please tell me."

"I’d like to book the entire pavilion for one day."

His words hit the air like a stone dropped into water. Mei Hua blinked, looking surprised. Nearby a disciple looking at some talismans stopped what he was doing.

"The... Entire pavilion?" Mei Hua asked carefully.

"Yes. All three floors. I want to look without anyone bothering me."

Behind them Zhao had stopped talking. He turned around slowly looking confused and then amused.

"Did he say—" Zhao laughed loudly to get more attention. "Book the entire pavilion? Does this country bumpkin know how much money this place makes every day?"

Some other customers paused to watch the show and people started whispering.

Mei Hua stayed professional as she tried to discourage him gently. "Yong Master I appreciate your interest but... no one has ever asked for that. The pavilion serves hundreds of customers every day. Perhaps a private room would—"

"Go get Steward Le Lie," Yu Liang said simply. "I believe this matter requires his attention."

Mei Hua hesitated, then nodded. "Please wait here."

She went through a side door. The main floor grew quiet as everyone waited to see what would happen. Zhao stood with his arms crossed and kept smirking.

"This will be fun," he muttered to his friend. "Watching him get rejected by the steward himself."

After a few minutes, Mei Hua returned, along with Steward Le Lie, who appeared as calm as ever but with a hint of curiosity as he approached Yu Liang.

"Young Master," Le Lie bowed with great respect. "Mei Hua informed me about your requirement. To be very frank with you, shutting down the Mystic Pavilion for even one day will have tremendous repercussions on our operations."

"I understand " Yu Liang replied.

Le Lie continued in a polite tone. "Our daily money usually averages one hundred million mid grade spiritual stones. To make up for the business the cost would be... exorbitant."

A sharp intake of breath came from somewhere in the crowd. A disciple near the back stared at the figure in disbelief.

"Hundred million? That’s enough to bankrupt an ordinary family if they tried to gather it all at once..."

Zhaos smirk increased a little. He tried to act tough again. "See? Even you know how silly that is—"

Yu Liang took out his storage ring from under his robes since he had forgotten to wear it. With just a wave of his hand, a leather bag appeared on the counter. Another one appeared after it, then another. A total of five, each one thumping heavily on the floor.

"Three hundred billion low grade spiritual stones " Yu Liang said calmly. "Is that enough?"

The room was utterly silent, so much so that even the slightest sound could be heard.

The hand of Le Lie, lying on the counter, went stiff. His gaze remained fixed on the pouches. He was speechless for a few moments. Finally when he started moving, he did it with his trembling hands.

Spiritual stones glittered inside, packed tightly together. He closed it and opened another, then a third.

Every single one was filled with the same dazzling sight.

"Every one of them is full..." he murmured.

"B-but this is..." Le Lies voice lost all its calm. "Young Master this is three times what we make in a day."

Someone in the crowd sucked in a sharp breath. A disciple standing near the wall stared blankly, his face draining of color. Another swallowed nervously before whispering, "That’s more than what our sect elder earns in an entire decade..."

Zhaos face went from smug to pale. He stood there frozen with his mouth open looking shocked by what he had seen.

Le Lie took a deep breath and stood up straight. When he spoke again his voice was full of awe and respect.

"Young master the Mystic Pavilion will be honored to help you. Which day do you want?"

Yu Liang thought for a moment. "Three days from now as I have things to do first."

"It will be done." Le Lie bowed. "Our pavilion will be available to you from sunrise till sunset. We will have our most competent staff on hand to assist you."

"Thank you Steward Le."

Le Lie looked at Mei Hua, who was standing still trying to keep her cool. "Please make sure that Young Master has everything he needs today. Whatever he wants to inspect, bring it to him right away"

"Yes, Steward," Mei Hua said, her voice trembling slightly, the shock still evident in her tone.

Yu Liang nodded once then walked toward the stairs to the upper floors. The crowd moved out of his way automatically with disciples and merchants stepping to let him pass.

Behind him Zhao just stood there, his pride completely broken.