Chapter 227: Chapter 227: The Sect’s Deliberate Move, Scholarly Temperament

Refining the Cyan Spirit Pill was considerably more difficult than the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill, but the alchemy session still ended earlier than the day before. This was due to fluctuations in the Earth Fire, which made the competition round conclude faster than anticipated.

After the Pharmacist Alliance announced who had advanced, the crowd began to leave.

Yang Chan followed Yan Jinfeng and the others, meeting up with the Cyan Yuan Sect Disciples waiting at the entrance before heading directly to the Spring Visit Building.

He had grown accustomed to the habits of Yan Jinfeng and his companions. After finishing their business at the Pharmacist Alliance, they would make a beeline for the various brothels. Their behavior seemed almost intentional.

As they were leaving the Pharmacist Alliance, members of Noble Families and other high-ranking dignitaries tried to extend invitations, but Elder Yan and the others refused them all outright, showing no intention of getting involved.

Heading to the brothels also seemed like a deliberate move to avoid these requests for an audience.

Yang Chan understood some of what was happening but didn’t pay it much mind. Ultimately, such matters were for Elder Yan, Elder Ji Feng, and the others to worry about. He just had to follow along. ’It’s best not to stray too far from Elder Yan and the others, just in case,’ he thought. That would be for the best.

...

The Spring Visit Building was crowded with guests. It was quite famous, carrying the reputation of housing the daughters of disgraced officials.

In the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, most wealthy merchants had to fawn over officials, even bribing them with large sums of money, just to get anything done. As a result, they harbored a natural hatred for these very same officials.

This hatred was never shown openly. However, if they saw one of these officials fall from power, they would certainly find an opportunity to "look after" the man’s wife and daughters, spending a part of their fortune to ensure these women could live a "better" life.

After all, without an official’s protection or a profitable enterprise, these women were naturally in dire straits and in urgent need of assistance.

Seeing this, the wealthy merchants would naturally open their purses generously, some even giving all they had to help, allowing these wives and daughters to remain radiant and continue living a life of luxury.

And while they might have to endure being drenched in sweat from head to toe, and even drink a bit of heather flower tea, their lifestyle was, at least, guaranteed.

Yang Chan followed Yan Jinfeng and the others into the Spring Visit Building. As expected, the women who greeted them were exceptionally graceful, some even possessing a scholarly air that was very comforting and made one feel right at home.

Xu Gaocen immediately put his arm around one of the women and headed upstairs. At the same time, another graceful woman proactively took hold of Yang Chan’s arm, letting it disappear into the soft, pale flesh of her own.

Despite her enthusiastic actions, the woman’s expression remained largely unchanged, looking rather detached. It was a clear case of her actions not matching her feelings. This, combined with her scholarly air, created a rather unique allure.

’As expected of one of the Capital City’s Twelve Floors. It must have its own unique appeal. The grace of these women is truly exceptional.’

Many men enjoyed taking these graceful women for themselves, performing all sorts of "good deeds" while watching their expressions change.

Yang Chan noticed a man downstairs had already slipped his hand inside a woman’s clothes to "inspect" things, watching her reactions and seeming to greatly enjoy the process.

He, by comparison, was being quite restrained.

Today, because Elder Yan had gotten caught up in a conversation with several Advanced Pharmacists from the Pharmacist Alliance after the alchemy session, Yang Chan and his group arrived at the Spring Visit Building rather late.

By the time he and Xu Gaocen joined the main group, the room was already crowded. There were several new faces, all Pharmacists from other Sects. He recognized a few of them, having watched them refine their elixirs. He had observed their entire process and noted that their Alchemy Ability was quite decent.

Yang Chan naturally went over with Xu Gaocen to chat. The topics of conversation were still limited to pleasure and trivialities. Perhaps they had already discussed the refining of the Cyan Spirit Pill, but that was before Yang Chan’s group had arrived. The current discussion was much more... straightforward.

As they chatted, the men’s hands were anything but idle. The women with them were, for the most part, the wives and daughters of officials. While this wasn’t particularly rare in the various provinces, for them to be from White Jade City... now that was interesting. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

There was still a certain status gap between people from the Capital City and those from other regions.

Amid their conversation, Yang Chan did manage to pick up a piece of news: some Pharmacists had made contact with high-ranking dignitaries in White Jade City and had been taken to the Imperial Music Bureau.

This was naturally significant, especially since it was the dignitaries themselves making the move, which carried even greater implications.

The people who came to participate in the Pharmacist Alliance’s Pharmacist Exchange Conference were all from powerful factions in their respective provinces; only they could possess individuals like Advanced Pharmacists and be qualified to attend the event in White Jade City.

These factions were not weak. Making contact with people from White Jade City at a time like this had special implications. The men who brought it up were using the topic to fish for more information.

The topic caught many people’s attention, and quite a few listened in quietly. It wasn’t until the conversation moved on that one of the Pharmacists impatiently disappeared. It was obvious that if he hadn’t been keen on hearing that piece of news, he would have been unable to hold himself back any longer.

Xu Gaocen was one of them, taking a woman to a private room to "get to work."

For a man driven by the desire to conquer, a prize like this only stoked his ambition further.

Yang Chan, however, was not so inclined. His eyes were fixed on the stage below. He hadn’t seen any of the prospective top courtesans make an appearance recently. They were clearly all holding back for the new year’s "Capital City’s Twelve Beauties" competition, preparing their trump cards to make a stunning debut.

Rumor had it that the Spring Visit Building had even managed to acquire the daughter of a high-ranking dignitary. She was said to be outstanding in her own right—proficient in the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, song, and dance. This, combined with her noble status, made everyone want to be the one to claim her. Many wealthy merchants were already making preparations, and numerous Noble Family Descendants from White Jade City were also planning to join the fray.

While Yang Chan had no intention of emulating Mr. Xu’s freeloading, he didn’t mind watching the show. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if he missed it. ’As long as my Cultivation is high enough, I’ll be able to see countless, even more outstanding, courtesans in the future,’ he thought.

’This year’s Capital City’s Twelve Beauties are just an insignificant speck in my long life. There’s no need to get worked up over it.’

Just look at last year’s Capital City’s Twelve Beauties. Some have retired from the scene, others have vanished after becoming concubines, and the rest have simply lost their fame, replaced by newcomers and now all but forgotten.

Yang Chan put his arm around the graceful woman beside him, his palm disappearing once more as his hand began to roam. His gaze, however, remained fixed on the several exceptionally graceful women dancing on the stage below.

"Sir," the woman beside him was a quick study. Her hands grew busy, and her soft, sweet voice fell on Yang Chan’s ear in a most sincere invitation. "Would you like to rest in a side room? My massage techniques are excellent. I can help you... cool down."

"No need," Yang Chan replied. "The scenery here is excellent. Appreciating the view is good for one’s health."

Yang Chan’s hidden hands squeezed slightly. The eyes of the beauty beside him glazed over, and her face was now flushed with desire. She clearly couldn’t sit still any longer, growing restless.

An apple isn’t a large fruit, but you can hold it in one hand. A bite tastes great, and it can even quench your thirst.