Chapter 146: Opening Success

The wild boar dug for an hour, creating a five-meter deep pit, but found no trace of the pioneer.

He didn't give up. He crawled out of the pit and lay on the wasteland, intending to rest. However, he saw a slender woman, half-risen, applying makeup with over a dozen arms.

This was a centipede, an old acquaintance of the wild boar.

"I haven't left yet, how dare you intrude?" the wild boar roared.

The centipede smiled. "Old boar, look closely," she said. "One of my feet is still outside the boundary line, so I haven't officially entered the plot. But then again, you've been searching here all night; it's time to make way for others."

"What's the rush?" the old boar snorted coldly. "There's still most of the day left!"

According to the rules of the local land god, only one supernatural creature could enter a one-mile radius plot at a time to test the pioneer, and each creature could stay in the wasteland for a maximum of one day and one night.

Before this, if someone wanted the wild boar to leave early, there were only two scenarios: either the pioneer was defeated, resulting in complete annihilation, and the wild boar achieved a great victory, or the wild boar couldn't defeat the pioneer, gave up the test, and voluntarily withdrew.

Neither of these situations was likely to happen now.

Because no one was fighting the wild boar.

So, they had to wait patiently.

The wild boar continued digging pits until evening, when his time was up, and he reluctantly left.

"If you ask me, there's no pioneer here at all. The land god is just tricking us," the wild boar grumbled.

The centipede woman scoffed. "Go complain to the land god," she said. "Tell him there's no pioneer here; maybe he'll give you a big reward."

The wild boar wasn't in the mood to bicker with the centipede. He glanced back at the wasteland, his eyes filled with reluctance.

"If you're no good, just get lost!" the centipede woman couldn't help but urge. "These trickster pioneers are all cunning. You definitely won't get them. Wait until you encounter one without tricks next time, then try your luck."

The wild boar didn't go far. He sat by the boundary line, watching silently, wanting to know where the pioneer really was.

The centipede woman entered the plot. Unlike the wild boar, she didn't search blindly. After carefully observing the terrain, she trembled, releasing dozens of small centipedes.

Seeing this, the wild boar roared, "Only one person can enter at a time! You brought so many children; this is breaking the rules!"

The centipede scoffed. "Open your eyes and look closely," she said. "Are these my children? These are my legs!"

Most of the centipede's legs were missing; these small centipedes were all transformed from her own legs.

Any movement on the land couldn't escape the centipede woman's sight.

Inside the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng was bored.

A traveling cultivator's practice could temporarily be sustained by elixirs, but their nomadic nature couldn't be suppressed.

He wanted to go for a walk.

The phonograph also urged him out: "Husband, you've rested for so long; it's time to go grocery shopping."

Li Banfeng pushed the door open and stepped out, and a strong surge of malice assailed him.

The centipede woman, who had been resting with her eyes closed in the center of the plot, perceived the aura of a living person. She immediately opened her eyes and crawled towards the Portable Residence.

It was just that she had too few legs, so her speed was slower.

Li Banfeng's reaction was quick enough; he immediately closed the door of the Portable Residence.

The centipede woman found nothing, failing to find any trace of the pioneer.

The phonograph sniffed the air and said to Li Banfeng, "It seems a bug wanted to crawl in just now. Husband, if she wants to come in, let her; your little servant isn't picky."

"What's good about bugs?" Li Banfeng replied. "Hard shells, lots of thorns, and hardly any meat."

The phonograph chuckled. "It's that hussy Honglian who eats meat," she said. "Your little servant eats souls, so she's not afraid of thorns."

Li Banfeng wasn't worried about the bug. He was worried about being seen by the land god, which would be considered cheating.

Better not to wander around; it was a rare chance to relax at home for a few days.

Li Banfeng sat at the table, picked up a cup of tea, and slowly flipped through a newspaper.

In one day, the Paradise Club would officially open, but Yang Yanzheng still hadn't managed to invite Ma Wu.

"Miss, I've been to Lanyang Village three times," Yang Yanzheng reported. "Young Master Wu is truly not in the village; he went to the new land."

"What is he doing in the new land? Hunting?" Chu Er asked, highly skeptical. "He's already the boss of Lanyang Village, why would he still hunt?"

Skepticism was useless; Yang Yanzheng genuinely couldn't find Ma Wu.

"I shouldn't have made his life easy back then; I should have made him beg on the streets! Then he wouldn't have so much attitude!" In a fit of rage, Chu Er used a dagger to poke a hole in her own face.

After sulking for a while, Chu Er turned her anger towards Yang Yanzheng. "The useless people you found, none of them are any good," she fumed. "Ma Wu didn't even have a rank to begin with, yet those good-for-nothings couldn't control him!"

At this point, Yang Yanzheng had to defend himself. "Miss," he said, "if it were just to deal with Ma Wu, those few people would have been enough. Who knew Li Qi would suddenly appear halfway through? That's why those people were lost."

"Li Qi..." Chu Er always reminded herself to pay attention to this person, but she always inadvertently overlooked him.

After a moment of silence, Chu Er suddenly smiled. "He's quite an interesting person," she mused. "On the opening day, please invite him to come and sit."

"I already invited him and sent the invitations together," Yang Yanzheng replied. "Li Qi isn't in the village either; he went to the new land with Young Master Wu."

Chu Er dabbed some makeup on her wound. "Both of them went together?" she wondered. "No one stayed behind to guard the house? Could there be some treasure in the new land?"

As she was pondering, someone announced that Lu Yuanhai, the second young master of the Lu family, had come to see her.

Chu Er's brows furrowed slightly. She could somewhat guess the visitor's intention. She instructed a maid to make tea and told Yang Yanzheng to invite him in.

Lu Yuanhai was twenty-five years old, two years older than Chu Er, who had always called him Brother Hai.

"Brother Hai, are you here to give me a congratulatory gift today?" Chu Er asked. "Don't say your little sister is greedy. When your business opened, I gave a red envelope with a thousand silver dollars. Now that your little sister's business is opening, shouldn't you give two thousand?"

Lu Yuanhai smiled. "Don't even mention two thousand, sister," he said. "If you say the word, I'd give twenty thousand."

Chu Er smiled sweetly and deliberately feigned a pout. "Brother Hai, you're not just teasing your little sister, are you?" she said. "Your little sister takes things seriously."

Lu Yuanhai nodded and got straight to the point. "Sister, I'm truly here to give you money," he said. "The Paradise Club is the Lu family's business, and the Lu family's business must ultimately return to the Lu family. You should understand what I mean."

"I don't understand," Chu Er said, lowering her head then looking up at Lu Yuanhai. "The property deed and land deed for the Paradise Club are both in my hands. Why must you insist it's your Lu family's business?"

Lu Yuanhai sighed. "Sister, I know what my second uncle did," he said. "That's why I'm here to give you money. You gave him eight hundred thousand silver dollars, and I'll give you that exact amount back to buy the Paradise Club back."

"Eight hundred thousand?" Chu Er scoffed. "You say 'buy it back' and it's bought back? I've put so much effort into it and sold so many of my assets. How do you account for that?"

"One million!" Lu Yuanhai said generously. "This is the maximum amount I can authorize. If you're still not satisfied, I can go back and discuss it with Uncle Qiu. Huaiyuan, is my sincerity enough?"

"Your sincerity is enough," Chu Er said with a smile, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. "But I don't want to sell. I wouldn't sell it even if you offered two million. The Paradise Club is mine. Now it bears the Chu surname; it belongs to me, Chu Huaiyuan. It opens tomorrow, Brother Hai. If you respect me, come and show your support. If you don't, then let's just pretend we don't know each other."

Lu Yuanhai sat in silence for a moment, then put on his coat and rose to leave.

He left, but the matter wasn't over. That evening, Chu Huaiyuan's elder brother, Chu Huaijun, arrived.

"Huaiyuan," Chu Huaijun said, "the Paradise Club belongs to the Lu family. It's best if we don't get involved in this. Lu Yuanhai came to see me today, saying they are willing to pay more to take the Paradise Club back. Just do them a favor and return the Paradise Club to them."

Chu Er didn't budge. "Big Brother," she said, "when we divided the family assets, it was made clear: if something big happens in the family, I'll listen to you. For other minor matters, we each make our own decisions. What? Have the rules changed today?"

"The Paradise Club matter *is* a big deal!"

"Business matters are my own concern; you don't need to worry about them, Big Brother!"

Chu Huaijun's brows furrowed tightly; he was a bit angry. "Fine, second sister, you're capable. Big Brother shouldn't bother with such idle concerns," he said. "But there's one thing we need to make clear: the Paradise Club is something you took over; it has nothing to do with the Chu family."

Chu Er smiled. "Don't worry," she said, "even if the sky falls, it won't implicate Big Brother!"

Chu Huaijun stood up and said, "Huaiyuan, let me remind you of one more thing: although something happened to the Lu family, they haven't fallen yet."

The next day, at dusk, the Paradise Club's Diva Competition was about to open.

Chu Er selected twelve popular singers to perform in turns.

She selected sixty VIPs from various prominent families, preparing six bouquets of roses for each. They would give flowers to the singer they preferred, and the one who received the most would be crowned Diva of the night.

Besides these sixty VIPs, there were also three hundred seats reserved for other notable figures in Greenwater City.

For the remaining guests, whose status was slightly lower, Chu Er also reserved scattered seating.

The band arrived early, the singers rehearsed on stage several times, and reporters and photographers were also in place.

The grand ballroom on the second floor was ready, and the banquet hall on the first floor was also prepared with food and drinks. There would be further entertainment after the competition.

Chu Er not only prepared banquets but also had the rooms on the third floor cleaned up. The Diva could sing on stage, and also in the rooms. Today was the opening, and Chu Er invested heavily, aiming for a successful start.

According to Chu Er's plan, the competition would open at 7 PM.

By 6:40 PM, not a single guest had arrived.

Chu Er's scalp tingled with anxiety. She instructed Yang Yanzheng to quickly send people to urge guests to come.

Yang Yanzheng sent people out. He waited until 7:20 PM, but still no one came!

The Diva Competition had just fizzled out.

The band and singers were all waiting on stage.

Chu Er sat below the empty stage, her expression somewhat dazed.

At 7:30 PM, a guest finally arrived.

Monkey Qiu walked into the grand ballroom, found a seat, and sat down.

He was all alone.

The grand ballroom, capable of accommodating a thousand people, had only one person.

Chu Er looked at Qiu Zhiheng and asked, "Uncle Qiu, what is the meaning of this?"

Monkey Qiu looked puzzled. "I'm here to show my support," he said. "It's your opening day; I received an invitation, and I even brought you a congratulatory gift."

Chu Er gritted her teeth. "Uncle Qiu," she said, "the Paradise Club is something I took over; it's mine."

Monkey Qiu seemed even more puzzled. "I didn't say it wasn't yours," he replied. "When does the competition start? I haven't even given out my roses yet."

In the new land of Lanyang Village, the centipede woman, almost frozen stiff, withdrew from the plot and sat shivering next to the wild boar.

The wild boar hadn't been waiting there the whole time. He had gone hunting, and now, full and content, was ready to come back and watch the show.

The centipede woman sniffled. "If you ask me, there's no pioneer here at all."

The wild boar scoffed. "Go on, go complain to the land god."

The centipede woman had failed. A golden eagle entered the plot, soaring and descending, stopping and moving, seemingly able to find some traces.

The next day, at 7 PM, the Paradise Club had not a single guest.

Chu Er didn't know what method Monkey Qiu had used to make everyone afraid to come to the Paradise Club.

The Paradise Club had just opened, but it was almost indistinguishable from being closed.

To say there was no difference at all would be incorrect.

The singers, band, waiters, and porters—they all required money.

Chu Er silently watched Yang Yanzheng.

Yang Yanzheng lowered his head and remained silent.

Wen Hongyan picked up her wine glass with her elbow and took a sip.

She now knew why Chu Er had insisted on inviting Ma Wu to manage the Paradise Club.

However, it now seemed that even if Ma Wu were here, it wouldn't change anything.

This might be why he had always been avoiding Chu Er.

The golden eagle dejectedly left the plot, and the halo on the plot's boundary line disappeared.

The pioneer test was over!

Two hours later, Li Banfeng walked out of the Portable Residence.

The reason he waited an additional two hours was because he wasn't sure if he had truly succeeded in pioneering.

He looked up at the sky; a halo seemed to project down in the night sky, but it wasn't very noticeable.

Li Banfeng wanted to change his angle, hoping to see more clearly. He took two steps, slipped, and almost fell into a pit.

"Who dug such a big pit here?" he wondered. "And so deep?"

This pit was dug by the wild boar.

Li Banfeng seemed to also see some halos in this more-than-five-meter-deep pit.

It wasn't halos; it was shimmering light.

There was water in the pit!