Death… and me

"But what could we use to invite her?" Ji Mo asked confusedly as he scratched his head, "Should we use silver?"

"Exactly! We will use silver!" Chu Yang nodded.

Ji Mo was stunned. He thought that the solution would be to behave as a genius that could speak in verses or something of the like. Money was the last thing that he thought would be the solution.

"Here is where the zither master perfects her craft. However, this is also where she amasses wealth!" Chu Yang said softly, "It was said that when the zither master first appeared, it cost 10,000 taels of silver to invite her to play a single song!"

"10,000 taels!?" Luo Ke Di's eyes widened in shock. "Damn… Would you directly break through into the Emperor level after listening to the zither melody?"

"Is 10,000 silver taels a lot?" Chu Yang shot him a glance, "Ever since then, the zither master did not reveal her skill for anything less than 10,000 taels! However, the rich and powerful never grow tired of it. In fact, they even compete with one another, causing the zither master's wealth to rise… Additionally, this House of Exceptional Beauties doesn't merely have the zither master.

After the zither master plays a melody, the person that offered the highest price would get to listen to her play alone! This melody is called 'The Only Ecstacy', symbolising the person's status. As for the other people, they could only choose from the remaining ladies. These ladies only sell their talents and not their bodies… but if you catch their eyes, you can negotiate even further…" Chu Yang laughed.

"…" Luo Ke Di's eyes were wide, "Even if you catch their eyes, you would still need silver, right?"

"You don't say!" Chu Yang stared at him.

"Amazing…" The four gasped. That's right. These ladies were only there to entertain; they weren't there to sell their bodies. However, if one had enough sincerity, the beauties would definitely be in admiration. The key thing was: how much silver was needed to show their sincerity?

"Then, that zither master… is also up for grabs?" Ji Mo asked.

"No!" Chu Yang shook his head, "That's impossible. You are not even allowed to think about that."

"Big Brother, you seem extremely knowledgeable about such brothels," Rui Bu Tong beamed in admiration.

Chu Yang laughed bitterly. He never thought that he would be seen as an expert on brothels. How could he not have researched about the House of Exceptional Beauties and its rules if he was interested in it?

As the five were busy discussing, someone had already placed a bid.

"10,000 taels! Ah, Boss Qian bids 10,000 taels."

"15,000 taels. Official Wang bids 15,000 taels!"

"…"

"These people are filthy rich!" Ji Mo stuck his tongue out. Even though he was from a powerful clan that was far greater than these people, he still couldn't put out 10,000 taels just to hear a melody. That would probably get him skinned alive…

"Young Master Lian has placed a bid of 30,000 taels! Are there any higher bids?" The auctioneer announced loudly.

Chu Yang closed his eyes and said, "Watch this big brother make his move!"

He suddenly raised his sign and called out, "100,000 taels!"

A young man near the stage was laughing as he talked to a man beside him. He was the one that placed the bid of 30,000 taels. 30,000 silver taels were already considered very high and he was sure that he would win. He could never imagine that someone would suddenly appear with a 100,000 tael bid.

He could not help but frown as he turned back and looked at Chu Yang.

"This young master has placed a bid of 100,000! 100,000 silver taels! Are there any higher bids? The lady on the stage was stunned but she quickly regained her calm.

A jump from 30,000 to 100,000… This was truly the first!

"150,000 taels!" Young Master Lian looked at Chu Yang with fire in his eyes.

"300,000!" Chu Yang laughed coldly.

The entire hall went silent. 300,000 taels for a single melody… The term 'extravagant' could no longer be used to describe such behaviour!

Young Master Lian's face turned dark. He shot Chu Yang a fierce look then turned back and sat down. He muttered, "What hole did this punk crawl out from? Does anyone know him?"

Everyone around him shook their heads. One of them said, "It seems like he has recently fallen into wealth and has money to burn. Young Master Lian can easily squish him!"

Young Master Lian sneered, "No one recognises him?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Young Master Lian smiled coldly.

He had pursued this zither master for half a year. During these six months, he had thrown out loads of cash. Now, a great snow had descended on the citadel. He knew that the zither master loved the snow and she would be in a great state at this time. He had planned to come a few days ago but the old emperor had died suddenly and the new emperor was coronated. He did not dare to stick his head out during such a sensitive time.

Now that everything had regained its calm, he immediately rushed over.

He didn't think that some country bumpkin would actually come and steal his thunder!

"In Iron Cloud Citadel, someone actually dares to challenge me? Haha, I truly want to see what kind of character he is!" Young Master Lian sneered. He turned around and said, "Follow that punk, break his legs and bring him to me!"

Behind him, a person in black shot Chu Yang a cold glance and smiled, "Rest assured young master."

How could Chu Yang not know that the zither master was the true person in charge of the House of Exceptional Beauties? Meeting her was actually part of Chu Yang's grand plan! Thus, Chu Yang had to get this face-to-face meeting regardless of the cost. Moreover, it wasn't his money.

Also, this Young Master Lian actually had so many money. Chu Yang wouldn't mind paying him a visit. He certainly wouldn't care if he offended this Lian fella…

Young Master Lian. The only family with such wealth with that surname in Iron Cloud Citadel was the family of the Lian Cheng Gui, the Minister of Revenue. That young man was definitely the son of Lian Cheng Gui.

The son of the Minister of Revenue was actually able to toss out more than 100,000 taels of silver to listen to a melody? Where did all that money come from? The annual salary of the Minister of Revenue was only a few several hundred taels of silver…

Minister Chu had not seen any action for some time. As they welcome the snowy weather, he would bring some fun to the officials of Iron Cloud Citadel. At the same time, he would give them a friendly reminder: The reign has changed but Bu Tian Pavilion remains the same! King of Hell Chu remains the same!

Moreover, Chu Yang would also use this move to tell Diwu Qing Rou that King of Hell Chu was still in Iron Cloud…

Chu Yang was elated to use this Young Master Lian as a sacrificial lamb for his campaign!

"This young master has placed a bid of 300,000 taels! Is there anyone else…" The lady in the middle of the stage stopped midway. Besides this boss, who else would be foolish enough to pay 300,000 taels for a melody?

She smiled and said, "Young master, what is your surname?"

Chu Yang smiled, "My surname is Chu."

Immediately after, he brought out a thick stack of bills and patted it. On top, the word '10,000' could be seen clearly.

This is a token of my sincerity towards the House of Exceptional Beauties. Even if Miss Xiao Lu doesn't play her zither, this money would still belong to the House!" Chu Yang smiled and passed the thick stack to the young lady in white beside him.

He continued, "There's no need to count. There are exactly 300,000 taels. Now, would Miss Xiao Lu please come out?"

The young lady in white held the bills with trembling hands. This was the first time in her life that she held so much money. She could not help but feel emotional as she held the stack of bills.

Young Master Lian observed this with a cold expression. The edges of his lips curved up as he smiled, "He is truly someone with money. The people I like most… are the people with money."

The men beside him felt a tinge of regret. Why did such a fat sheep have to antagonise Lian Fan Lei? Why didn't this fat sheep run into me? If that happened, wouldn't all that money end up in my hands?

He easily threw out a few hundred thousand taels. He was truly a fat sheep… What a pity!

After some time, a pop could be heard from the side of the stage. Faint white mist appeared from the corners, immediately shrouding the entire stage.

Bells rang as a graceful silhouette appeared in the middle of the stage and sat down. Despite the mist, the zither master seemed to take a glance in Chu Yang's direction.

Behind the mist, her appearance couldn't be clearly seen. The only things that could be seen were her clear and cold eyes which looked as deep as a bottomless autumn lake.

The fragrance of incense slowly wafted through the air…

"Ting!" A string of the zither vibrated. This sound slowly rang out, as though it had come from a distance.

The sound of the zither seemed as though it had come from the outside. It was soft and delicate, however, it seemed capable of removing all worries, sadness and uncertainties…

Like smoke, the zither's music pervaded through the hall. It slowly rose and filled the entire hall.

Chu Yang closed his eyes slightly as his mind was unconsciously immersed within the melodious sound. Before he came, Chu Yang wouldn't have believed that music would have such power. Now, he had come to believe it.

With a mere prelude, there was already enough power to sway his spirit.

Suddenly, a soft voice could be heard, "This melody is called 'Reincarnation'."

The zither's music suddenly disappeared, but it still seemed to be heard from the distance. In a few moments, softer zither music could be heard and it slowly spread outwards… This time, the feeling was completely different!

Chu Yang felt as though he had appeared from nothingness and arrived in this world. An arm held him gently and he arrived at a snowscape… Every single scene from his previous life flashed through his eyes.

Waves of memories flooded into Chu Yang's mind.

Reincarnation! This melody had unexpectedly brought Chu Yang through reincarnation again…