Chapter 19

Lin Xiaoyang was debating whether to go see what Hull was up to. If he were alone, he would definitely follow him. Changing faces wasn't rare in the cultivation world—techniques like human skin masks were not unfamiliar in their circle. So he was curious about what Hull was up to in disguise.

But now there was Bai Zhizhi by his side. He was really afraid of another blowup. He didn't have Brother Jiang's cultivation level and couldn't hold back this little fox.

Just as Lin Xiaoyang was about to suggest Bai Zhizhi return to the courtyard while he himself tailed Hull, Bai Zhizhi made the first move: "Let's go follow them and see what they want to do."

Lin Xiaoyang: "Uh... Zhizhi."

Seeing that he wasn't moving, Bai Zhizhi asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Aren't you curious?"

Lin Xiaoyang said tentatively, "How about you go back to the courtyard and wait for Brother Jiang to come back? I'll go check it out."

Bai Zhizhi: "You can't even recognize which one is Hull. What are you going to tail? Besides, you can't beat Hull. If he discovers you, you'll only end up getting beaten."

That was the truth, but as a fox, he didn't have to be so blunt.

Watching Hull and his group walk into a club, Lin Xiaoyang gave a bitter sigh. "Forget it, let's not go. We'll wait for Brother Jiang to come back and then decide."

Bai Zhizhi didn't understand: "Why do we have to wait for Jiang Lin to come back? Can't you do anything without Jiang Lin?"

Lin Xiaoyang explained: "No, look at where they went in. This is a private club. Besides entertainment venues, it also has trading halls and auction houses, so security is tight. We can't get in without a membership card."

This club was very famous, but not among the general public—it was well-known among the wealthy and in the cultivator circle. The club had its own plantation growing spirit fruits and spirit rice. Such things were in high demand, with reservations booked months in advance. Not to mention the price—not just anyone could get a reservation.

Besides the spirit food restaurant, the club had an entertainment city downstairs and an auction house upstairs. With high privacy and a powerful background, whether for entertainment, business, or trading, it offered top-notch security. That's why many people with power or money liked to come here, and the security was ironclad.

He didn't have a card for this place, but Brother Jiang did. To get in, they had to wait for Brother Jiang to come back.

Bai Zhizhi beside him was shocked: "You're a cultivator, yet you can't enter a shop run by mortals?"

Lin Xiaoyang: "The point is, this isn't a shop run by mortals. They check both your ID and your bank account."

He was dirt poor. So what if he was a cultivator? Cultivators couldn't turn stone into gold either.

Just as Lin Xiaoyang was frowning and thinking of a solution, he turned and saw Bai Zhizhi beside him. His eyes lit up. "They can keep people out, but not demons. Zhizhi, why don't you turn into a fox and sneak in?"

Bai Zhizhi, who was watching the crowd bustle, narrowed his eyes and smiled, a hint of murder in his smile. "Just say you want to die already."

Thinking of how fast Bai Zhizhi's claws were, Lin Xiaoyang immediately dropped to his knees and apologized: "Sorry."

Seeing how hopeless Lin Xiaoyang was, Bai Zhizhi wasn't counting on him either. "If you don't try and just stand here, you can rack your brain all you want and still not get in."

Seeing Bai Zhizhi actually walking toward the club, Lin Xiaoyang felt a headache coming on. He hoped the little fox wouldn't lose his temper and start a fight.

Without time to think further, Lin Xiaoyang quickly sent an SOS message to Brother Jiang and then chased after Bai Zhizhi.

When Lin Xiaoyang caught up with Bai Zhizhi, the manager of the Royal Court Club, who was standing at the entrance, was politely refusing Bai Zhizhi's request to enter.

"We are a membership-based establishment. If you don't have an appointment or a membership card, we can't provide service. Please understand."

It was unclear whether it was because the service staff here were highly trained and professional, or because they saw Bai Zhizhi's elegant appearance and didn't know his background, fearing to offend him, but they turned him down very politely.

But polite as it was, it was still a refusal.

Lin Xiaoyang knew the rules here and was about to pull Bai Zhizhi away. At worst, he could stake out at the entrance. If Brother Jiang came back quickly, they might still be able to get in and find the person.

Before Lin Xiaoyang could act, Bai Zhizhi asked the manager, "How can I get a card to enter?"

The manager kept a polite smile on his face and said, "You can apply here. Fill in your information, and our staff will review it. After approval, there will be a capital verification. If everything is fine, we can process the membership card for you."

Such a small mortal world, not a big place, but so many rules.

Seeing that getting a card wasn't working, Bai Zhizhi changed his approach. "If customers can't get in, what about employers?"

The manager didn't understand for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Bai Zhizhi: "You have a threshold for customers to enter and spend money. What if I want to do business with you? Don't you have an auction house here? If I want to sell something, will you stop me from entering?"

Lin Xiaoyang, who had been silent like a mute, couldn't help but glance at Bai Zhizhi again and again. He thought of that fox demon working at the zoo. Was the gap between fox demons really that big?

The fox demon at the zoo was still playing in the mud to get by, while his Brother Jiang's fox had already developed negotiation skills. Some foxes just put others to shame.

The manager looked at the two empty-handed people in front of him and maintained his smile. "If you have something you want to auction here, we naturally welcome it. However, we don't accept just anything. Our appraiser needs to evaluate it first. May I ask what you wish to sell?"

Bai Zhizhi turned to look at Lin Xiaoyang.

Lin Xiaoyang: "???" Why was he looking at him? Human trafficking was illegal!

Seeing Lin Xiaoyang blinking at him stupidly and not speaking, Bai Zhizhi had to ask, "Do you have anything on you that can be sold?"

Lin Xiaoyang instinctively covered his kidneys. "Human trafficking and organ trading are illegal! We can't do that!"

He had been so busy teaching him to read that he forgot to educate him on the law!

The manager beside them coughed lightly. "Excuse me for interrupting, but we only accept the sale of objects. As for other things, whether whole or not, we don't want them."

Bai Zhizhi looked surprised. "People can be bought and sold here?"

Lin Xiaoyang snapped back to reality. "You weren't trying to sell me?"

Bai Zhizhi looked him up and down, unceremoniously. "You're not worth much anyway."

Only then realizing his misunderstanding, Lin Xiaoyang looked speechless. "Do I look like I have anything valuable on me?"

Probably because Bai Zhizhi was really good-looking, with bright eyes and a clean aura, even though the manager knew they were making up excuses to get in and didn't actually have anything to auction, he didn't drive them away. He was very patient in communicating with them. Anyway, he had nothing to do at the moment, and it never hurt to look at a beautiful person a few more times.

Confirming that Lin Xiaoyang had nothing, Bai Zhizhi thought for a moment, then raised his hand. Several exquisitely crafted gold leaves appeared in his palm. He handed them to the manager. "What about this?"

The manager was stunned, and Lin Xiaoyang was also stunned. They weren't shocked by the few gold leaves in his hand, but by Bai Zhizhi's ability to produce objects out of thin air.

Lin Xiaoyang's thought process was clearly a bit unusual. He leaned close to Bai Zhizhi's ear and whispered, "Is this an illusion?"

Compared to a storage item, he thought illusion was more likely. After all, a demon knowing a few deceptive illusions wasn't strange.

Bai Zhizhi: "Of course not. This is real. If you don't believe me, feel it."

The manager also shed his gentle demeanor and immediately became serious. "Where did you just take this out from?"

Sleight of hand and a storage item were two different things. If this person had a storage item, they would need to find a way to build a good relationship. Even among cultivators, not everyone had a storage item.

Bai Zhizhi: "Why do you care where I took it out? Do you accept this here or not?"

Bai Zhizhi had noticed earlier that Jiang Lin had a storage item, but Lin Xiaoyang and the others clearly didn't. This proved that storage items were extremely rare here. Still, as long as some people had them, that was enough.

The manager looked at the gold leaves in his hand and said, "I'm sorry, gold and silver are common things with no great auction value. If you are a cultivator and have something used by cultivators, you could give it a try."

Then he had far too many of those.

But Bai Zhizhi wasn’t stupid—he knew better than to flaunt his wealth. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to pull out anything truly valuable. After rummaging around in his storage item for ages, he couldn’t find a single worthless trinket.

Then he remembered Lin Xiaoyang saying earlier that this store was so stuck-up because they had a Spirit Plant garden as their backing, so food items should be acceptable.

With a slight flick of his hand, he put away the gold leaf, and a jade-green Spirit Fruit with flowing spiritual light appeared in his palm: “What about this?”

It was a Snake Spirit Fruit, exclusive to Qingqiu. But this fruit was resilient and prolific, often growing wild by the roadside. There were so many that no one bothered to eat them; they’d just fall to the ground and rot, returning to the soil as nutrients.

He liked the fragrance of the Snake Spirit Fruit, and since it also glowed in the dark, he worried that without its familiar scent in a new place he wouldn’t be able to sleep. So before sneaking out of Qingqiu, he packed a bunch.

If there was anything worthless in his storage item, this Snake Spirit Fruit was probably the least valuable—after all, he just picked it up off the side of the road.