NOVEL NEXT Chapter 47: Opening an Account
Chapter 47: Opening an Account
Xu Lian returned to the city without even bothering to retrieve the donkey tied to the pier. It didn’t take much to imagine that it was probably already taken by someone else. After all, in this world, people never missed an opportunity for free gain.
He didn’t care about the silver it cost him; he thought of it as a gift to some poor soul.
It was almost the Hai Hour (9 p.m.). The streets had emptied as the night grew darker. Men, women, and children had all gone home to sleep. In a backwater town like Stone Town, with no entertainment to speak of, “going to bed” was the best pastime.
With nowhere else to go, Xu Lian headed for the brothel… He wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.
After a full day of running around and fighting with two martial artists, he was indeed exhausted. He planned to rest for the night and figure out his return to Green Bamboo Town tomorrow.
There was also the matter of the young girl he had promised to take in. Since he had given his word, he had to take responsibility; disappearing without a word wasn’t an option.
Besides, the girl was quite attractive and clearly liked him. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t tempted. Based on his past experiences, it would be relatively easy to win the favor of someone like her.
“Ah, you’re back again, dear patron!”
The brothel madam greeted him with joy, clinging to him like glue. She knew that he was generous with his money.
Xu Lian pulled out a silver ingot and tossed it into the air. “Give me a room – quiet and secluded. Bring some food and wine, no need for girls.”
The madam quickly let go of him and focused her gaze on the falling ingot. She caught it with both hands, her eyes lighting up as she saw that it was over three taels of silver. Beaming, she said, “Right away!”
She led Xu Lian to the farthest room in the corner. “This is quiet, and there’s no one in the adjacent rooms. Will this be enough?”
Xu Lian looked around. “It will do.”
The madam left to instruct the kitchen to prepare the food and wine.
Soon, the meal was served.
The kitchen in such places always had food and wine ready to serve at any time.
Xu Lian shut the door and bolted it shut.
Ignoring the food, he eagerly took out the jade box he had been carrying.
Opening it, he placed his hand on the stone marrow, which looked like tofu pudding, and silently recited, “Add ingredient.”
[Ingredient added. Advancement successful].
In an instant, the stone marrow inside the jade box turned to ash.
Simultaneously, a strange itch spread through Xu Lian’s bones as if countless ants were crawling within them. A surge of heat coursed through his body, unleashing an explosive power.
At the same time, his bones felt itchy as if thousands of ants were crawling inside them, and streams of heat rushed through his body, forming an explosive force!
Then, black impurities like mud oozed out of his skin. This was a qualitative change that completely transformed him!
[Name: Xu Lian]
[Stage: Marrow Refining Stage]
[Skill: Breaking Wind Sword Technique (Volume 1)]
[Item: Sharp Dagger (Ordinary)]
[Note: You have 1 unallocated progression point. You can assign it to stage, skill, or item.]
Xu Lian lightly swung his fists, generating a gust of wind. The Marrow Refining Stage was a significant upgrade from the Bone Refining Stage.
“Assign the progression point to the rank,” he instructed.
This was the Progression Point he had saved earlier. Using it now would also reveal what material was required for the next stage.
[Rank progression completed. Add one Condensation Pill to advance to the Bright Strength Stage].
Condensation Pill?
Xu Lian immediately recognized it as a resource used by cultivators. As expected, the higher the level, the rarer the materials needed.
“I’ll worry about it later. I’ll deal with it when I’m back in Green Bamboo Town.”
Sitting down, he dug into his meal and ate heartily to satisfy his hunger.
“Stealing the stone marrow earlier was risky, but it worked out. My white cat avatar distracted the black dog quarry patrol inspector, allowing me to make a smooth escape. The inspector might have suspicions, but without evidence, it can’t do anything to me.
Using the white cat avatar’s position as the Pingyang County Inspector as a cover was clever, but it’s a tactic I can only use once. Overusing it will lead to trouble”.
As he ate, Xu Lian reflected on the operation, summarizing his experience.
The main issue, he realized, was that taking the stone marrow had triggered the alarm mechanism – a detail he hadn’t anticipated. He made a mental note to be more careful next time.
After his meal, he rested for a while before going to bed.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after washing up and having breakfast, Xu Lian was about to leave when he noticed the brothel madam and the girls huddled together, whispering anxiously. Their faces were pale and their eyes were filled with fear.
“What’s going on?”
Xu Lian wasn’t one to meddle in other people’s affairs, but his curiosity got the better of him.
The madam hesitated for a moment before rushing over and pulling him aside. “Something happened last night. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
Xu Lian raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”
The brothel madam lowered her voice. “Last night, including you, we had a total of five male customers. According to the ritual, I had five idle girls make the offering to the black box. But the black box didn’t react at all.”
Xu Lian froze for a moment, recalling how his purple jade token had briefly glowed the previous night. It must have triggered an exception, invalidating the entire brothel’s ritual sacrifice.
He found it amusing, but reassured the madam with a casual smile. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing. The sacrifice should work fine tonight.”
The madam looked at him skeptically. “How can you be so sure? Why would it work tonight?”
Xu Lian replied nonchalantly, “Because my family encountered something similar once. The entity in the black box might have some… digestive problems. It occasionally skips a meal, but by the next day, it’s back to normal.”
Digestive problems?
The madam was momentarily stunned. Could beings like that have digestive problems at all?
Xu Lian didn’t bother to explain and left with a smile.
When he arrived at the market, he bought another donkey.
Then he rode his donkey to look at houses and bought one that was neither big nor small.
This would be his “home” in Stone Town.
Or rather, his new house, intended for tonight’s wedding.
“Sister Xiya and Chan’er share a household. If Pei Zhaoxi decides to marry me, she wouldn’t want to be a concubine, so she’d need a separate one. As for the girl from Stone Town, it wouldn’t be practical to take her far away from her family – keeping her here ensures that she isn’t cut off from her parents. This arrangement is quite reasonable.”
Xu Lian felt that this arrangement was scientific. Separate households would prevent favoritism, which in turn would preserve goodwill and avoid setbacks in improving affection.
There would inevitably be more “accounts to open” in the future. Expanding his connections was crucial for accumulating Progression Points.
Of course, having too many was pointless if he couldn’t build deep connections. Reaching affection levels of 90/100 or higher wasn’t easy. Nurturing relationships required real effort and emotion-it wasn’t as simple as marrying someone and passively earning affection points.
“Now that I’ve got the house, I need to furnish it-beds, quilts, pots, bowls, pans, firewood, salt, grains, vegetables, and meat. That’s what makes a house feel like a home.”
Riding the donkey, Xu Lian returned to the market and started shopping.
He also picked up some of Stone Town’s local specialties, planning to bring them back as gifts for Sister Xiya and the others. It was often through these small, thoughtful gestures that points of affection were built, not achieved in one fell swoop.
As night fell, Xu Lian tied a sack of grain to his donkey, along with two large roosters and several fish as betrothal gifts. Mounted on his donkey, he wound his way through the streets and alleys toward the address of the girl he’d met at the pier the night before.