Zu An gave an embarrassed laugh. He scratched his head and said, “That’s different… I only know how to play a single song on that instrument.”
Xie Xiu sighed in praise. “You are so humble! This almost doesn’t seem like Ah Zu’s style.”
Zu An figured that what he said made sense. So what if he had plagiarized someone else’s work? It wasn’t like anyone in this world would know anyway.
Wait… what the heck am I saying! It should be an honor to introduce this world to the culture and works of art from my previous world! Why the heck am I feeling guilty?
Shang Liuyu hummed a few notes. The tune was none other than the melody of ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’. “Ah Zu, I really like this song. It feels so free and unrestrained, and I feel all fired up just listening to it. It sounds like a war song of the beast tribes. It’s quite similar to that B… B… what was it again?”
She was a foreign language teacher after all, so she was very experienced. That was why no one doubted her words when she compared it to a war song of the beast tribes.
“BGM. It means background music,” Zu An explained.
“BGM…” Shang Liuyu muttered to herself. She was proficient in many languages, but she didn’t know what race this language belonged to.
After being stumped for a while, she gave up trying to figure it out. “I heard that you won over the Immortal Abode’s most popular courtesan queen using this song. Is that true?”
Zu An waved his hand dismissively. “Those are all just exaggerated rumors. You can’t just believe anything you hear nowadays.”
“It wasn’t true?” Shang Liuyu was shocked. She gave Xie Xiu a confused look.
“But it was because of this song that you won Lady Qiu’s favor!” Xie Xiu cried in support.
“Nonsense. It wasn’t this song that won me her affections—it was my attractiveness and talents,” Zu An replied in a deadly earnest manner.
Everyone in their group—Xie Xiu, Shang Liuyu, and even those following them—was stupefied.
How could such a shameless person exist in this world?!
Shang Liuyu was the first to recover her composure. “Ah Zu, why don’t you make a song for me some time? Your songs are all quite interesting.”
‘Scenery of Home’, ‘God of Gambling’, and ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’ were truly refreshing. They were completely different from the songs of this world, yet still full of musical sense. It was easy to become inspired by these songs.
“Sure!” Zu An agreed straight away.
Behind them, Xie Xiu felt jealousy overcome him. I would’ve asked my sister to teach me a bit more about music if I had known that it would come with so many benefits!
A short while later, the group arrived at the Silverhook Casino. Zu An held the promissory note from the Plum Blossom Sect in his hands—Shang Liuyu had given it to him earlier— and began the takeover.
Plum Blossom Sect was in turmoil after Mei Chaofeng’s death, and even Plum Blossom Seven, who was in charge of the Silverhook Casino, had been killed by an enraged Shi Kun, which threw matters into further disarray.
Zu An represented the Chu clan to some extent. Moreover, he had Brightmoon Academy’s employees and even the City Lord’s son with him. Together, they represented Brightmoon City’s three greatest powers. How could anyone from the Silverhook Casino dare to resist?
Even if there were objections to the takeover, neither Zu An or Shang Liuyu had to do anything to address them. The group of professionals dispatched by the academy took care of all of them.
Xie Xiu didn’t know what kind of deal Zu An reached with the academy. He couldn’t help but feel shocked. Why would the academy help Zu An out so much? This fella really was one-of-a-kind. So many people hated him, yet another group of people loved him.
The professionals that Jiang Luofu had sent with them were indeed outstanding. In no time at all, they had already taken inventory of almost all of the Silverhook Casino’s assets and negotiable instruments, and froze their accounts. Everyone who used to work under the Plum Blossom Sect was chased out, and seals were plastered over the doors.
In the future, the academy would send logistics personnel to recruit new workers, carry out renovations, and carry out other necessary tasks.
With the awesome efficiency of the academy, Zu An’s takeover of Plum Blossom Sect’s assets was more or less assured. Xie Xiu figured that it wouldn’t hurt to get on the good side of these two great powers, so he ordered some of the Yamen’s subordinates to come and help out.
This made matters go much more smoothly. The work they had originally planned to complete over several days was practically completed within a day.
“Ah Zu, you had better invite me out for something nice after all of this today. I’m so exhausted, and my back is killing me!” mid-way through, Xie Xiu had begun to grow tired. After all, this playboy was too lazy to even help out with his own family’s affairs—what the heck was he doing here?
The only saving grace was Shang Liuyu’s dreamy presence. She was just too beautiful, and the two hardly ever spent any time together. Being this close to such a beauty was a form of enjoyment on its own. This was the only reason why he had lasted this long.
Zu An laughed. “Xiu’er, are you really suffering from back pains at your age? Perhaps there’s something wrong with your kidney? You really need to get that checked out.”
Xie Xiu was less than amused.
Everyone around them snickered. Even Shang Liuyu smiled.
Xie Xiu was completely speechless. Bro, are you blind? My body is in amazing condition, okay? How would I be able to play around with all those girls otherwise?
Why don’t we have a little contest if you don’t believe me?
As soon as he had that thought, the scene that he’d witnessed in the dungeon appeared in his mind, and a terrible feeling instantly ran through his entire body.
Damn it! Forget it, I won’t compete against you.
You have successfully trolled Xie Xiu for 66… 66… 66…
Under the onslaught of resentment, Zu An only laughed. “I was just joking, man. Of course I’ll invite everyone out for some good food later.”
Everyone cheered, immediately motivated by that statement. Xie Xiu felt a little better as well.
There was one last place left to go. As they were sorting through the place, someone tossed a middle-aged man over to the academy teachers. “Teacher Shang, Teacher Zu, this fella tried to run off with a bunch of deeds and banknotes.”
Someone else recognized the man. “Isn’t this guy Plum Blossom Four, from the Plum Blossom Sect?”
Zu An took back the deeds and banknotes. He snorted. “No wonder I felt like some things were missing while we were cleaning out the rest of Plum Blossom Sect’s holdings. So they were all here with you!”
Bitter resentment filled Plum Blossom Four’s eyes. “I hope you go to hell, Zu An! You won’t be able to laugh for long!”
The Plum Blossom Sect has done extremely well for themselves in Brightmoon City over these years. As the fourth-ranked brother of the sect, his daily existence had been incredibly comfortable. However, this Zu An fellow had come in and ruined everything.
Their sect leader was killed, the glorious Plum Blossom Sect had crashed and burned, and he himself became a stray. How could he not seethe with hatred for the one who had caused all of this?
You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Four for 999 Rage points!
Zu An sighed. “Even your sect leader is dead, bro. Aren’t you just wasting your breath?”
Shang Liuyu wasn’t a fan of these scenes. Her brow furrowed, and she walked off to one side. Xie Xiu eagerly followed after her. Talking to these Plum Blossom Sect fellows would really make him feel like he’d fallen down to their level. He much preferred staying with this beautiful teacher.
“I heard that Blackwind Stockade’s Chen Xuan is already after your life!” Plum Blossom Four spat angrily.
Zu An laughed. “It seems like you know a little. But then, aren’t I still perfectly alive?”
I suppose, since Chen Xuan and Mei Chaofeng were brothers, everyone in the Plum Blossom Sect knows about this.
Plum Blossom Four sneered. “Of course it’s not that easy to kill you while you’re under the Chu clan’s protection. However, you will soon face the wrath of the Whale Gang. No one in Brightmoon City can expect to survive for long after offending both the Blackwind Stockade and the Whale Gang!”
“The Whale Gang?” Zu An was shocked. He’d been trying hard to get more intel about this exact gang. “How did I offend the Whale Gang?”
“Hmph! These deeds and banknotes were meant for Whale Gang’s boss. He’ll obviously get mad at you since you’ve stolen his stuff!” A flicker of joy flashed across Plum Blossom Four’s eyes. Clearly, just thinking about how Zu An was going to be dealt with made him happy.
“You were planning to give this stuff to Whale Gang’s boss?” Zu An was shocked. “You’ve met Whale Gang’s boss before?”
“Of course not. But I made an appointment to meet with him.” Plum Blossom Four laughed. The Plum Blossom Sect was a sinking ship, and all the remaining members of the sect were trying their best to flee to safety. Plum Blossom Four had planned to use the few assets under his control to secure him a place with the Whale Gang.
After all, he was one of Plum Blossom Sect’s higher-ups, and was willing to offer up such a huge gift. This made the Whale Gang’s boss take him seriously, and he even agreed to meet with him personally.
But he was just a step too late, and had ended up being captured by this fellow. Otherwise, he would’ve already moved on from this disaster.
“You can forget about trying to get any intelligence about the Whale Gang from me! I definitely won’t… argh!” Before he could finish, Zu An shoved a pill into his mouth. He was horrified. “What did you feed me?!”
Zu An smiled. “Nothing, just a pill with some parasites sealed inside. If you don’t get the antidote within a day, the parasites will incubate and start laying eggs. Your blood will transport its eggs all throughout your body, and then they will swim to your brain on their own to slowly devour your brain matter… Tch, tch, tch, I wonder what kind of sound they make when they start chewing?”
“Stop… please stop…” Plum Blossom Four almost wet his pants when he heard the onomatopoeia.
He wasn’t scared of regular poisons. If he died, he died. However, this sort of suffering would leave him alive while he wished fervently for death instead!
Zu An’s face grew cold. “If you wish to save yourself, then hurry up and tell me about your meeting with this boss. Leave nothing out. I’ll give you the antidote once I’m satisfied.”
It seemed like this guy was really afraid of these parasites. Zu An had spent a lot of time thinking about what he could best use to scare his enemies. All the horror movies he’d watched before provided great source material, but he still felt like bugs were the most effective. Sure enough, this fella had broken down so quickly.
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk…” Plum Blossom Four was shaking. He quickly spilled everything he knew.
Zu An fell deep into thought as he processed the information that had been provided. After a short time, he said, “All right. I’ll give you the antidote after I meet with the Whale Gang’s boss.”
Plum Blossom Four immediately waved his hands in panic. “Young master Zu, I’m dead for sure if that boss finds out what I did!”
The Whale Gang was part of the merciless underground world, and they always acted viciously and mercilessly. Sometimes, they didn’t just kill a single person, but targeted their entire family instead. This was what Plum Blossom Four was scared of.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll just pretend to be one of your subordinates. How could the Whale Gang’s boss possibly recognize me? I’ll give you the antidote once everything is over, and I’ll even let you go with some retirement money. The choice is yours.” Zu An’s mind was already set on finding out more about this mysterious Whale Gang. This way, he could bring a happy surprise home for his wife.
Plum Blossom Four’s face became gloomy. Eventually, he nodded. “Fine! I hope you keep your promise!”
