Chapter 242: Helping or Not Helping

Zu'an was startled, wondering who dared to cause trouble at the Immortal Abode. Although it sounded like just a brothel, to operate on such a large scale, it surely had powerful backing; even a child wouldn't believe otherwise. And it wasn't just him; at that moment, everyone in the Immortal Abode looked towards the sound, wanting to see which "god" dared to make trouble on such an important day.

They saw a burly man with one foot propped on a stool, his knife plunged directly into the table, glaring provocatively at the young masters seated there. What was particularly striking was his shock of bright red hair, which added to his fierce demeanor. Zu'an, however, secretly disdained him. His hair was coiled like instant noodles, a style few could pull off throughout history. Did this guy think he was Little Li Flying Dagger? Moreover, since arriving in this world, this was the first time he'd seen someone with red hair. He wondered if there were people with green hair.

"Smack!"

As Zu'an's mind wandered, one of the young masters at the table couldn't help but stand up. "How dare you!" he exclaimed. "Do you know who's sitting here?"

"Oh? Do tell," the red-haired brute said, pulling over a stool and sitting down with a look of interest on his face.

The young master glanced at the fierce-looking subordinates behind the brute, feeling a momentary chill. But remembering this was Brightmoon City, and specifically the Immortal Abode, he calmed down a little. He quickly pointed to the luxuriously dressed young master at the head of the table. "This is Young Master Wang Yuanlong of the Wang clan. Haven't you heard of the Four Great Clans of Brightmoon City—Chu, Yuan, Zheng, and Wang?"

Zu'an was surprised. He remembered Chu Chuyan mentioning that the Chu and Wang clans had always been friendly and could be considered allies.

"Hmph, I thought it was some big shot," the red-haired brute said, picking his ear with his pinky finger. Then, with a flick, a piece of earwax flew onto the other man's face. "If you were to say it was Duke Chu's daughter or Lord Xie's son, I might show a bit of respect. But a mere merchant's son who sells grain? Does he really have the right to throw his weight around here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Yuanlong, who had been sitting calmly at the head of the table, suddenly changed his expression. The other party was openly humiliating him.

"Excuse me, how did you get in?" Just then, a pimp arrived with a team of Immortal Abode guards. Wang Yuanlong was a frequent patron, wealthy, and habitually spent lavishly. The Immortal Abode naturally had to keep him happy; how could they let him be wronged here?

"With invitations, of course," the red-haired brute said, pulling a stack of invitations from his robe and tossing them onto the table.

"Forgive my poor eyesight, but it seems our Immortal Abode didn't send an invitation to you. How did you acquire these?" The pimp took a glance and, without needing to open them, knew the invitations were genuine. One must know that these invitations were specially made by the Immortal Abode. Both their design and material were highly unique, making it impossible for outsiders to counterfeit them.

"You didn't send me any, but getting invitations is quite easy. Just snatch a few from people who have them, right?" The red-haired brute shrugged, answering nonchalantly as if he saw nothing wrong with such an act.

These words caused an uproar throughout the hall. No one expected someone to openly admit to such a brazen act of robbery. However, a few shrewd individuals secretly pondered that the invitations issued by the Immortal Abode were all for prominent figures. The fact that this red-haired man could snatch so many at once made his true strength quite intriguing.

The staff of the Immortal Abode all changed their expressions. Wasn't this openly slapping their face? The pimp said, "You are not welcome here. Please leave."

"What, are you afraid this old master has no money?" The red-haired brute directly pulled out a pouch and threw it onto the table. Hearing the familiar clinking sound from inside, it was easy to guess it was full of large silver ingots rubbing against each other.

However, this act drew a sneer from Wang Yuanlong. "A bumpkin is a bumpkin indeed. When prominent figures come here, who would foolishly carry so much physical silver? It's all done with bank notes."

"You're asking for death, kid!" The red-haired brute roared with rage, as if a raw nerve had been struck. He immediately grabbed a plate of dishes from a nearby table and hurled it at Wang Yuanlong.

Wang Yuanlong quickly dodged. As a young master of the Wang clan, although not a cultivation genius, he had never lacked cultivation resources since childhood and could still amass decent strength even by spending money. However, the incident happened too suddenly. Although he avoided being hit directly in the face, he was still splattered all over with the food juices from the plate, looking extremely disheveled for a moment.

"Outrageous! Simply outrageous!" Wang Yuanlong trembled with rage.

At this, the pimp of the Immortal Abode couldn't stand by any longer. He quickly signaled his subordinates to step forward. Unfortunately, that group of normally agile guards hadn't even gotten close to the red-haired brute before they were scattered and beaten by his subordinates.

The red-haired brute didn't even glance back. He simply grabbed a handful of melon seeds from a nearby fruit bowl and began cracking them, spitting the shells everywhere. "This is between you and me. Why bother others? If you've got the guts, come settle it with me yourself."

Wang Yuanlong's face was extremely grim. Though furious, he wasn't foolish. The force with which the opponent threw the plate and the strength displayed by his subordinates all indicated that the opponent's strength far surpassed his own. Because each invitation allowed only one attendant, his usual subordinates were all outside. If a real fight broke out, he would surely be at a disadvantage. But if he backed down now, how could he continue to hold his head high in Brightmoon City? Where would Young Master Wang's dignity go? What's more, today was the Courtesan Queen Competition. If Qiu Honglei looked down on him, he would have nowhere to weep.

As he found himself in a dilemma, a mocking voice suddenly came from the side. "Oh, this fellow looks unfamiliar. You don't usually show up in the city, do you?"

Zu'an was taken aback. He wondered, wasn't Chu Yucheng intimately conversing with the bear woman? Why would he suddenly step out to confront them? It didn't quite fit his personality.

As if seeing his confusion, Chu Hongcai explained, "The Chu clan deals in salt, and they need the Wang clan to transport grain to the border in exchange for salt permits. Third Brother often deals with the Wang clan and has a good relationship with Wang Yuanlong." As he spoke, he also stood up from his seat and followed, clearly worried Chu Yucheng might be at a disadvantage against so many opponents. Zu'an thought to himself that the Chu couple really needed to reflect. The relationship between the main branch and the second and third branches seemed merely ordinary, but the relationship between the second and third branches was clearly much closer.

"Brother Yucheng!" Wang Yuanlong was so excited he almost shed tears upon seeing Chu Yucheng appear.

Before Chu Yucheng could respond, the red-haired brute cast a contemptuous glance at him. "Where did this fat pig come from? Does our business concern you?"

Chu Yucheng's breath caught. He was usually very proud of his physique, believing it to be the most perfect body shape. Yet he had been directly called a fat pig by the other party. How could he possibly tolerate that!

"Damn it!" Chu Yucheng cursed angrily, then slapped the red-haired man's face. The red-haired man's subordinates quickly surrounded him. Many people in the hall gasped aloud, knowing that the few burly Immortal Abode guards had been beaten to a pulp by this group in the blink of an eye. This little fatty was probably going to suffer a great loss.

Zu'an walked over to Chu Hongcai and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to help?"

"No need," Chu Hongcai said coolly, holding his sword with both hands.

In the time it took for that exchange, Chu Yucheng was seen charging like a thick-skinned wild boar, quickly scattering the subordinates.

The red-haired brute let out a surprised "Oh?" "Interesting." He casually kicked, and the stool he was standing on slid precisely to where Chu Yucheng was about to land, causing him to trip and fall directly to the ground. The red-haired brute scoffed, "What good is mere brute strength? A fat pig is still a fat pig."

Chu Yucheng's eyes turned red. He roared and charged towards the brute. This time, the red-haired brute dared not remain seated. He slapped his palm down, using the momentum to spring into the air, then swung the scabbard in his hand directly at Chu Yucheng's face.

"Watch out!" Chu Hongcai couldn't sit still anymore. In that brief moment, he had clearly seen that the opponent's cultivation was far superior to both Chu Yucheng's and his own. Third Brother would likely suffer a great loss against him. So he also quickly drew his longsword and thrust it forward.

Only Zu'an remained, deliberating on the spot: Should he help? If he helped, it seemed the Chu couple were somewhat wary of the second and third branches, perhaps even wishing to use this opportunity to eliminate rivals. But if he didn't help, after they had just welcomed him so warmly, it would seem disloyal.