Chapter 96 - Human Hearts and Minds

After watching the ending of the Legend of the Sword and Fairy, Song Qingfeng didn’t feel too bad, but he wasn’t in a good mood either. He began to drink with others.

“Hey! Fatty! How come you’re not drinking?” Xu Luo patted Wang Tai on his shoulder.

Ever since they began playing Diablo together, they had become friends and had come for a drink together.

“Of course, let’s drink!” Wang Tai froze for a second. He hadn’t played the Legend of the Sword and Fairy and had only watched others play it, but he felt the same way as the others.

“It’s a pity that this liquor isn’t nearly as good as Sprite,” Song Qingfeng clicked his tongue while he drank.

“You won’t get drunk with Sprite!” With that said, Lin Shao chugged another mouthful of liquor, and his face turned red.

Beside them, many other customers in the Wind and Moon Pavilion had big jars of liquor on the tables in front of them. Even Shen Qingqing who rarely drank had ordered a bottle of Green Jade Liquor and took a seat beside a window.

Xu Zixin sat across from her, and her face didn’t change color after drinking one bottle of liquor.

“I prefer Sprite!” Shen Qingqing mumbled. Her face turned pink after dinking only a small bottle of liquor

While resting her chin in her hand, Xu Zixin looked tipsy as she said, “I wish that the snacks here are as good as Haagen-Dazs and the liquor as good as the Sprite.”

The waiter who served them looked sulky.

He had got tired of hearing Sprite and Haagen-Dazs these days and wondered what they were. It was still ok if someone wanted to compare other things with the liquor and snacks in the Wind and Moon Pavilion, but they criticized the great offers of the Wind and Moon Pavilion while they were eating!

It must be noted that the chef of the Wind and Moon Pavilion came from Jingshi, and he was as good as the chefs in the Royal Palace!

-Meanwhile in an exquisite compartment on the fourth floor of the Wind and Moon Pavilion-

Behind the pretty curtain, one could see the vague shape of a woman and her distinct and beautiful features. With her beautiful eyes set deep under her dark eyebrows, she opened her lips and said with pride and elegance, “Qingher, Wanyu.”

Standing before her were a man and a woman who were meticulously dressed. The man was in his thirties and looked righteous. After hearing his name, he led the woman beside him to bow slightly.

The woman behind the curtain looked casual with a pot of tea in her hand. “I just came back from Jingshi and can use some rest. What happened these days? Tell me.”

The man and the woman immediately reported what had happened in the Wind and Moon Pavilion recently.

“The customers keep commenting that our liquor doesn’t taste as good as the Sprite of a small shop?” The woman behind the curtain found it ridiculous. “Our snacks aren’t nearly as good as Haagen-Dazs?”

She said in contempt, “It’s just a small shop. The customers can eat whatever they like; what impact can it have on us?”

…

Standing outside of Tianji Hall, Su Tianji felt melancholic. It was the night, and the stars blinked brightly in the dark sky. Looking at the shadows beyond the mountains and the stars in the sky, she felt a loneliness that she had never felt before.

With a flick of her fingers, a sword flew out and flashed on the sea of flowers outside the hall.

…

Standing in front of the great hall of the Nalan Family, Nalan Hongwu squinted his eyes and said slowly, “When I was young, people were talking about concentrating on martial arts without distraction. I tried to achieve it most of my life, but is it really so hard to achieve?”

Standing behind him, Elder Fu remained silent for a long time before answering, “Sir, we’re… old.”

Nalan Hongwu laughed with regret for his old age and said, “Yeah. We’re old, and we shouldn’t focus on martial arts without distraction anymore.

Flowers could bloom again, but people couldn’t go back to their youth. They should focus their mind on how to enjoy the rest of their lives.

Nalan Hongwu heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that it was enough for him to play with plants and flowers and entertain himself with leisure activities at this stage of his life.

Compare to concentrating on martial arts without distraction, I prefer being calm and peaceful like water, he thought. After spending so much time on battles and wars, Nalan Hongwu now preferred a peaceful life.

…

Standing in her courtyard full of pear trees, Nalan Mingxue looked distracted while she stared at the trees.

“Ms. Nalan, are you sad as well?” Lan Yan was wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

“No.” Nalan Mingxue looked back with the moonlight shining on her charming face as she asked, “Lan Yan, what do you think of the game in Mr. Fang’s shop?”

“It’s great,” Lan Yan answered even though she was puzzled by this question. “Although the worlds in the last two games look weird, they were quite novel, and I wonder who came up with such ideas. As to the Legend of the Sword and Fairy, the world that it describes is similar to ours. But instead of feeling bored, I felt like it is quite a classic…”

“Then, do you like it?”

“Of course!” Lan Yan got excited when this topic was brought up. “Speaking of that… I especially like the Legend of the Sword and Fairy!”

“Yeah…” Nanlan Mingxue lowered her head and said, “The people and techniques in the game are interesting, and everyone likes it, so… it’s not good.”

“Why is it not good with everyone liking it?” Lan Yan was baffled.

“It’s simple,” Nanlan Mingxue said with good logic, “While Mr. Fang’s business is prospering, someone will get jealous. Although he doesn’t have any direct competition, he has rivals who are displeased that he is taking away their customers. Mr. Fang is only an ordinary man, but now his business seems to have the potential to surpass those of the aristocrats’. In short, he will face many challenges. Even with that mysterious cultivator sitting in his shop, he can’t solve all the problems.”

Nalan Mingxue pointed her finger at Lan Yan’s chest, saying, “Human hearts and minds… are complicated. More importantly, I’m afraid that many people are greedy over the spiritual artifacts which are called computers and want to take them from him…

“These people can’t do anything serious separately, but I’m afraid someone will unite them into a force.”

…

-Southern Business Alliance-

There were business people in every world, so was this world that was full of cultivators and warriors.

The spiritual artifacts and elixir pills that cultivators wanted, and the martial arts technique scrolls and the body-tempering herbs that the warriors sought had triggered the expansion of commerce and prosperity.

A business alliance which could expand and strengthen industries and satisfy the needs of the high-level cultivators and powerful warriors was certainly extraordinary.

Huo Chong was a thin middle-aged man, and he was wearing a stylish robe. He was also a cultivator with powerful essence.

Sitting in front of his desk, his eyes squinted while he read the letter in his hand. “Pang Rulie?”