Chapter 84 - 84: Rank Of Elites
Bang!
Before the others could react, Chen Chen had already entered Yiran Inn and closed the door.
Gu Qingcheng was still smiling but her smile had stiffened.
Freeloader!
It had been a long time since she heard such a disdainful word, and she began to recall the time when she first joined the industry.
"Little demon, I won't fall for your tricks! Haha!"
Hua Hongyan got onto the carriage and left in high spirits.
Although she was not able to convince Chen Chen to stay at her brothel, she was pleased to have seen him.
The other pimps roughly felt the same, looking at Gu Qingcheng playfully.
"Miss, what should we do?" the old man from the Floral Moon House asked awkwardly.
After hearing that, Gu Qingcheng turned to look at the signboard of Yiran Inn, stomping her feet furiously before getting into the carriage.
"What else can we do? Go!"
In the carriage, Gu Qingcheng was getting angrier and angrier.
'I, Gu Qingcheng, am the most beautiful woman in the nation!
'I get numerous Spirit Stones just by talking to others, but I didn't earn a single Spirit Stone after saying so many nice things to him today.
'Yet he claims that he isn't a freeloader!
'Psht! He's the greatest freeloader in the world!
'Does he really think he'll be considered a freeloader after hiring a prostitute and getting the deed done for free?
'He's not famous and yet, he dares to be so conceited! Hmph! I'm bearing this grudge!' Gu Qingcheng thought, secretly holding a grudge.
Outside the carriage, the old man cautiously asked, "Miss, what about those stupid novel writers? Do we still have to write poignant love stories?"
"Get lost! Tell them all to get lost!"
...
Chen Chen returned to Yiran Inn in a good mood.
He had been showered with compliments for nothing and he didn't have to pay for any of it. Hence, he was extremely comfortable.
On the other hand, An Jiuniang was secretly observing the Tianyun Clan's successor from afar, her face puzzled.
She just couldn't understand him.
Why did the successor insist on staying in Yiran Inn?
If it was for Spirit Stones, that wouldn't make sense, because the Drunken Red House had offered him 2,500 Spirit Stones.
If he was after beauty... An Jiuniang knew that Gu Qingcheng was far superior to her.
And here lay the problem. What was the successor after?
The more she thought about it, the more curious she became. She felt like the successor of the Tianyun Clan was so elusive and mysterious, with no one able to understand him.
At that moment, Zhang Ji and Sun Tiangang walked in from outside.
"Brother, I've already inquired about the accommodations of the successors of the various clans. There is more information, just take a look."
While speaking, he handed a slip of paper to Chen Chen.
Chen Chen grabbed it, scanning it casually before etching all the information into his mind.
Seeing this, Sun Tiangang also took out a slip of paper, saying timidly, "These are the major events that will be happening in the city in these two days, Senior Brother. Please read it!"
"Hah! You're so polite today, huh? You actually know to call me Senior Brother," Chen Chen commented with some surprise.
He grabbed the note and glanced at it, thinking, 'Wow, there are going to be 28 auctions. They're trying to hold down the successors, huh!?'
However, as he continued to read, his expression began to turn sullen.
This was because there were still quite a few gatherings among the successors of the 36 clans. For example, the eight clans of the north had agreed to meet at the Tiger Might House, where the White Tiger Clan was gathering at.
The successor of the Green Dragon Clan Lin Jin had even invited nearly half of the successors to a gathering at the Purple Qi Pavilion.
Apart from that, there were quite a few other gatherings.
Yet, no one had come to invite him, the successor of Tianyun Clan!
"These bunch of bastards! How dare they look down on me!? I've joined the clan a few years later than them and I'm staying in a brothel, but what's the big deal?"
Chen Chen's expression changed again and again while Sun Tiangang, who was at the side, seemed to be vexed.
He had known that Chen Chen would be unhappy after reading it.
"What should we do?" Sun Tiangang asked softly.
"We'll wait until the enthronement ceremony is over. This is not the time to be impetuous and let anger rule over our heads."
Seeing how stern Chen Chen's expression had become, Sun Tiangang was in disbelief.
He did not expect Chen Chen to be able to bear with it. He didn't seem like the successor who had a high status in Tianyun Clan, having sent him flying with just one move!
"Junior Brother Sun, don't forget the purpose of our visit here. The Green Dragon Clan, White Tiger Clan, Xuan Wu Clan, and the Vermilion Bird Clan are the four clans that are the main force against the unification of the Wuxin Clan. At this point, it won't be good to go against them. Otherwise, it will seem as if the Tianyun Clan is trying to please the Wuxin Clan. You're still too young and impulsive!"
After saying this, Chen Chen suavely turned around and entered the room.
Sun Tiangang was dumbfounded, thinking, 'What does that have to do with me? I'm not the one who's embarrassed!'
...
That night, the owners of 17 major brothels, other than the Floral Moon House, gathered together.
"The news that the successor of the Tianyun Clan is staying in Yiran Inn has already spread around, with many noblemen asking me about Yiran Inn. What do you think about it?"
Hua Hongyan sat in the leader's seat and spoke in a calm down, sounding exactly like a big boss.
The capital was of a limited size, as were the number of customers. The rise of one brothel inevitably meant the decline of the other brothels, which was something they did not want to see.
In particular, a rapid rise due to some special factors.
For example, the sudden appearance of Gu Qingcheng in the Floral Moon House and the fact that a successor had checked into Yiran Inn.
"We should think of some ways to weaken the impact of this matter," one of the owners said in a low voice.
"Yes. The successor of the Tianyun Clan is indeed not that competent, and his influence isn't great. He wasn't invited to the gathering of the successors in the past two days.
"How about we create some rumors and say that the girls of Yiran Inn are plagued with diseases?"
Hearing this, the cheeks of the owners twitched.
Such rumors would do the most damage to a brothel, easily driving people to desperation.
"There's no need to be so ruthless. Weakening the influence of the successor of the Tianyun Clan will naturally weaken the impact of this incident. I think we just have to spread the news around and say that the successor of the Tianyun Clan is weak and ranked at the very bottom among the 36 clans, which is why he is not treated very well in the clan. We have to say that he's very poor too, and that the successors of the other clans do not care to be associated with him. That will be enough," a pimp said with a smile.
Hearing her words, the people nodded one after another.
The last sentence was particularly crucial!
Herd mentality was common among humans. If a group of powerful figures alienated a person, others would subconsciously follow suit.
The gentries and scions would definitely not patronize Yiran Inn once they learned that the successors had alienated the successor of the Tianyun Clan.
Otherwise, they would seem lowly.
Hua Hongyan made up her mind very quickly, declaring, "Yes, let's do that. Send more of our men to spread the word tomorrow."
...
Bright and early the following morning, a group of scions were having breakfast in the Drunken Red House.
At the same time, they were also discussing which female successor was prettier.
One of them suddenly asked with some curiosity, "I heard that a successor is staying in a brothel named Yiran Inn. Have you guys been there before?"
"No, is there such a place?"
Seeing that a few people were about to discuss Yiran Inn, an errand boy from Drunken Red House interjected, "Sirs, do you know that the successor of Tianyun Clan..."
Before he finished, a fast stallion suddenly appeared in the distance, the person on the horse holding a list.
He exclaimed loudly, "The Wuxin Clan has ranked the successors of the 36 clans according to their strength. Would you like to take a look? It'll only cost you one Spirit Stone!"
In a flash, a Spirit Stone flew from the hand of one of the scions to the man, causing him to hurriedly toss the list in his hand to the few noble scions.
They had long forgotten about Yiran Inn at this point.
The thing that the people in the capital were most curious about was the strength of the successors.
Besides, the list was definitely reliable, having been created by the Wuxin Clan.
Thinking this, the noble scion who received the list quickly opened it, his friends leaning over to look at it.
"State of Jin's Elite List!
"First place, Chong Ye of the Wuxin Clan and the new king of the State of Jin.
"Second place, Lin Jin, successor of the Green Dragon Clan.
"Third place, Ye Wusheng, the successor of the White Tiger Clan.
"Fourth place, Chen Chen, successor of the Tianyun Clan.
"Fifth place, Xiao Huang, the successor of Vermilion Bird Sect...."
Looking at the list, the scions were a bit astonished. Most of them had heard of the top ten successors and weren't too surprised by the list, but where did the successor of the Tianyun Clan pop up from? He had even beat the successors of the Vermilion Bird Clan and the Xuanwu Clan.
They hadn't ever heard of him before.
At this point, one of them recalled what the errand boy had just said, turning his head to ask, "What did you just say about the successor of the Tianyun Clan? Introduce him to me."
The errand body was now awkward, stammering, "I wanted to say that… The successor of the Tianyun Clan is actually very impressive..."