Chapter 28: Victory Terrace

Long Qi first dragged Su Tang to a clothing store to buy some clothes. Of course, along the way, Long Qi did not hesitate to show off his sharp tongue, criticizing Su Tang’s poor taste in dress. Su Tang had already grown used to it; he let Long Qi talk, remaining as calm as a breeze brushing against a mountain.

Afterward, they went to the market to buy furniture. Long Qi found it annoying because there were too many miscellaneous items to buy, such as pots, pans, beds, and sheets. In the end, he simply sent someone home to find his three maidservants and let them handle the shopping. Then, he pulled Su Tang toward the East Market.

The East Market was a human market. As the name suggested, this was a place for buying and selling slaves. Because Su Tang had merged memories from other worlds, he felt some disgust toward the scene before him and seemed uninterested. Long Qi took it upon himself to pick two girls around sixteen or seventeen years old for Su Tang.

The names of the maidservants were to be given by the master. With a mischievous sense of humor, Long Qi suggested naming one Little Wen and the other Little Xiang. He even said that in the future, Su Tang might be troubled by Wen Xiang and feel full of anger; coming home to vent on two maidservants would be just right.

Su Tang rejected the idea firmly. It had taken over three hundred days to kill one person; it was easy to imagine how perverse and twisted Wen Xiang’s inner world was. Perverts were scary enough, and perverse women were especially terrifying. Su Tang did not want to provoke her over such a matter.

Seeing that it was nearly noon, Su Tang asked, “Where else do we need to go?”

“To eat something, drink some wine, and introduce you to some friends,” Long Qi replied. “But you must be careful. In that place, make sure you do not say the wrong thing.”

“What place?”

“Victory Terrace,” Long Qi answered, and then he began to explain in detail to Su Tang.

Victory Terrace was a restaurant with a long history of nearly several hundred years. However, Long Qi did not even know who the previous owners were or who the current owner was. It had become a tradition for the prominent figures of Changshan County to frequently go to Victory Terrace to eat, drink, and pass the time.

It had the finest wine and food in Changshan County, as well as the most beautiful courtesans. However, it was very picky about its guests. At most, no more than fifty people in Changshan County were qualified to be patrons of Victory Terrace. It had nothing to do with strength; there were many Wandering Martial Artists and even Battle Fighters in the county town who liked to be alone, but they could not enter Victory Terrace unless they received an invitation from a patron.

In other words, every patron of Victory Terrace represented a power, or was at least a core member of their respective power.

Therefore, Long Qi wanted to take Su Tang to Victory Terrace. It was the best place to understand the intentions and even the movements of various families and powers.

Ten minutes later, Long Qi and Su Tang arrived in front of the main building of Victory Terrace. The main building was magnificent, reaching nine stories high. There was no reinforced concrete in this world, so building a structure this tall was definitely a remarkable feat of engineering.

Two young girls in gauze dresses guarded the door. Seeing Long Qi approach, they tipped their toes and respectfully pulled up the door curtain.

Upon entering the main hall, Su Tang saw that the decorations inside were extremely luxurious, with carved dragons and phoenixes and gold shimmering everywhere. However, there were pitifully few guests, with only two tables occupied.

Long Qi looked back at Su Tang. To his disappointment, Su Tang showed an indifferent expression, as if the decorations here were ordinary to him.

At the table by the window, a man around thirty years old raised his hand and smiled, waving at Long Qi. Long Qi said softly, “Wait for me a moment.” After speaking, he walked toward the table by the window.

Su Tang nodded and looked around casually. However, as he turned to look toward the other side, he almost collided with a person walking up from behind him.

In that instant, Su Tang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. Two thoughts, pulling him toward opposite extremes, fought desperately for control of his body, trying to trigger corresponding actions. One was to turn and run away, abandoning everything; the other was to pounce and fight to the death, ensuring that even if he died, he would die in a blaze of glory!

The person he almost collided with was actually Tie Canglan, whom he had killed with his own hands in the Black Forest!!!

Although his heart was struggling violently and filled with terror, Su Tang’s face remained calm. This was thanks to the memories he had absorbed.

Even a dog knows that it cannot bark while biting, for if it barks, it will miss its target; how could a human lose to a dog? He seemed to have taught a child this lesson once, but he really could not remember who that child was. He only vaguely remembered the emotions he felt then; he had hoped the child could become as strong and alert as himself.

“Boy, are you blind?!” the old man shouted displeasuredly.

“I am sorry,” Su Tang apologized humbly and then stepped aside.

The old man glared fiercely at Su Tang and continued walking forward. A middle-aged man in green robes followed behind him; he was quite polite and smiled at Su Tang.

“Elder Tie, what is the meaning of this?” Long Qi heard the dispute and discovered that Su Tang was being scolded. He became somewhat angry.

“Mr. Long, I am sorry. Brother Tie has been in a bad mood these past few days, please forgive him…” The middle-aged man in green robes hurried forward to smooth things over, then looked at Su Tang. “Mr. Long, this is…”

“He is the new Pavilion Master of our Miaodao Pavilion, Su Tang,” Long Qi said with a dark face.

“So it is Mr. Su. I have heard much about you…” the middle-aged man in green robes smiled.

The old man gave a snort and stepped toward the stairs to go upstairs. Just then, the person who had been chatting with Long Qi added leisurely, “Aside from his temper, I find that Elder Tie has made no progress in recent years.”

The old man paused. “Bai Zhenyu, you are not qualified to mind my business.”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, please calm down. Why is this necessary?” The middle-aged man in green robes grew anxious. “Even if you will not give me, Gu, any face, you should at least think about the rules of Victory Terrace, right?”

“September Ninth, the dragon raises its head; the date is almost here. I am not in a hurry for these two days,” the person talking to Long Qi smiled.

The old man snorted again and walked up the stairs.

“What happened just now?” Long Qi asked softly.

What happened? Su Tang was also bewildered. How was that guy alive? And… how could he be so indifferent upon seeing him, only shouting a curse…

“I don’t know either,” Su Tang shook his head. “Is he…”

“Tie Canghai, perhaps? Or Tie Canglan? I cannot tell them apart. Anyway, both brothers are the kind of very annoying fellows,” Long Qi said.

“Twins?” Su Tang breathed a long sigh of relief.

“What is wrong with you?” Long Qi only then noticed that Su Tang’s forehead was covered in tiny beads of sweat.

“It is nothing…” Su Tang smiled bitterly. He was terrified; if he had truly lost self-control just now, whether he had turned to run or launched an attack, it would have ruined everything.