484: Chapter 484 Small Bar

"You must be Fellow Daoist Kong Xuan, right? Come, sit. I've prepared a bottle of fine wine especially for you."

Led by a woman dressed like an elite professional, Zhou Yan arrived at a room that resembled a private bar.

As soon as he entered, he saw a greasy, blonde-haired old man waving at him.

However, Zhou Yan ignored him, choosing instead to first survey the surrounding environment before finally turning his gaze to the blonde man in front of him.

This person was also dressed like a corporate elite, wearing a crisp uniform with an arrogant hairstyle. Overall, he looked a bit chubby, but this also added a touch of softness to his otherwise stern Face.

According to the image comparison, if there were no body doubles or anything, he should be King Dong. He really didn't look anything like a Body Integration Realm powerhouse; instead, he was reeking of money.

This was not a metaphor, but a literal description.

Zhou Yan could be absolutely certain that the guy in front of him definitely cultivated the Dao of Commerce, because he had felt this exact sensation when facing Hui Butan.

Based on what he had learned later, after cultivating the Dao of Commerce, a large volume of economic flow would provide feedback to the cultivator. Along with legitimate transactions, there were naturally illegitimate ones as well.

The aura left behind by these illegitimate transactions was just like that of demons or those who had eaten too many spiritual species, carrying an inherently repulsive scent.

King Dong had this scent on him right now, though compared to Hui Butan, his scent was fainter.

However, at his level, the volume of wealth flowing through his hands must be far greater than Hui Butan's. The fact that he could still manage to be more "normal" than Hui Butan showed that the person in front of him was not simple.

Either he really had methods, or his strength was terrifyingly high, allowing him to purify himself, or perhaps both.

Zhou Yan moved a little closer and sat down at the bar counter.

He then looked at the person in front of him.

"You must be King Dong, right? May I ask your surname, Fellow Daoist?"

When Zhou Yan said this, he deliberately emphasized the word "Dong," making the female secretary beside him break out in a cold sweat and repeatedly signal with her eyes for Zhou Yan not to speak recklessly.

But King Dong didn't care at all, still smiling as he poured wine for Zhou Yan.

"My surname is Tang, given name Pu. You can call me Old Tang or Fellow Daoist Tang. There's no need to keep calling me King Dong; after all, we'll all be family in the future."

Zhou Yan ignored the female secretary's subtle signals, still intending to pick a fight.

"This is the first time Fellow Daoist Tang and I have met, right? Being family is a matter for the future. We aren't close yet, so we should still maintain some distance, shouldn't we?"

Tang Pu smiled and raised his glass.

"Fellow Daoist Kong makes a valid point. Then let's get to know each other first. What do you think of this bar where I entertain guests?"

Zhou Yan glanced at the female secretary, who was still trying to signal him to say something nice, and then looked at the expectant Tang Pu.

Finally, after returning a look to the female secretary that said "don't worry, it's fine," he spoke to Tang Pu.

"Pardon my bluntness, Fellow Daoist Tang, but these wines of yours are garbage. One or two of them might have the advantage of age, but the quality is truly poor."

"Except for the bottle you brought out, I wouldn't even take the others if they were on sale at the Lianxing Pavilion."

The female secretary felt like dying at this moment. Seeing the look Zhou Yan had given her, she had thought everything would be fine, but she hadn't expected the atmosphere to be so filled with gunpowder.

She knew Kong Xuan's cultivation level; on the guest records, Kong Xuan was listed as Early Stage Soul Transformation.

She knew that in the Eastern Region, a naturally grown Soul Transformation cultivator had a terrifyingly high value, likely far stronger than most of the VIPs they usually entertained.

But that was no reason for him to give King Dong attitude. What if King Dong got angry and dragged her into it?

But King Dong's expression didn't change; he continued to watch Zhou Yan with interest, while Zhou Yan continued to complain.

"To be honest, the wine here is too rotten; it's not even as good as the construction of the bar itself."

"If I'm not mistaken, many of the building Materials here are custom-made composites."

"To create Materials that achieve this texture and effect, a lot of manpower and energy must have been spent."

"Coupled with these formation patterns and architectural designs that can only be described as showboating, there is no attempt to hide the high cost of this building."

"If you have this kind of spare money, using such high-level technology and Materials to build a bar is not as good as exchanging it for some good wine; it's a complete waste of this good place."

"Hahaha, well said!"

King Dong laughed and clapped, which not only confused the female secretary but also confused Zhou Yan.

Because both of them could clearly feel that the other party was genuinely happy, and not laughing out of anger.

"What's going on? Does Mr. Tang have some special hobby, like enjoying being lectured by others?"

Hearing Zhou Yan's follow-up attack, the female secretary felt like she was dying again.

"No, Big Boss, why are you still pressing the attack!"

"Don't you realize what your Realm is and what his Realm is!"

But to their surprise, King Dong just waved his hand and said confidently.

"To tell you the truth, the wines here are all gifts from others. I just put them here on the principle of not wasting them, mainly to entertain ordinary guests or simply as decorations."

"When entertaining distinguished guests like you, Fellow Daoist, I naturally bring wine from my own home; I would certainly not try to fool you."

"As for why I am so happy, it is naturally because I didn't buy these wines, but I designed this bar myself and participated in its construction."

"I knew my taste was decent, but those vulgar people would just keep praising my wine whenever they came in, completely failing to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the construction here."

"That's why I put these lousy wines here; they can decorate the bar, serve as ornaments, and help me filter out some vulgar people."

"So, Fellow Daoist Kong, we are surprisingly compatible. If it weren't for the short time we've met, I believe we would have become close friends."

"Damn it," I spent all this time trying to pick a fight, but I picked the wrong target. Not only did I fail to provoke him, I actually made him happy by criticizing him.

Zhou Yan was now in a full-throttle state; after all, he had just been schemed against by this guy once, and this matter couldn't just end like this.

Anyway, the Taiyi Sect had already infiltrated the Desire Realm, and Qian Santong had even taken care of a high-level official in the Desire Realm.

So, with his identity issue already resolved, these so-called conditions for becoming a King couldn't hold him back, and naturally, he had no reason to give Tang Pu Face.

But he hadn't expected things to seem to be developing in the opposite direction.

After calming down for a while, Tang Pu finally suppressed his excitement and waved his hand to signal the little secretary to leave.

The little secretary felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted, left the room quickly, and closed the door.

"I originally thought this was just a social obligation, but I didn't expect you to be so compatible with me, Fellow Daoist. Since that's the case, we can skip the getting-to-know-you phase and close the door to discuss some serious business."

Zhou Yan curled his lips.

"Who is close to this old guy? He really knows how to flatter himself." He then picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

"Hmm?"

The taste was good, and it even helped slightly with Physical Body reinforcement; it was indeed good stuff!

After tasting it and confirming it was indeed good, Zhou Yan quietly moved the wine from his glass into his backpack, intending to pack it away.

"How is it, Fellow Daoist? The taste of my hidden wine is not bad, right?" Tang Pu smiled.

As the saying goes, one does not hit a smiling Face. Since the other party was like this, Zhou Yan couldn't keep a straight Face, but he still tried to find a way to find fault.

"Fellow Daoist, this wine is indeed good, and this place is truly luxurious, but I wonder if I can come again in the future."

"Of course you can. This place is meant for entertaining distinguished guests. As a colleague of the School of Life in the future, you are welcome to come whenever you want, Fellow Daoist."

Seeing the other party make such a bold promise, Zhou Yan didn't hesitate to start being sarcastic.

"If you don't mind, Fellow Daoist, I'll come by every time to get a few ounces of wine, take up a corner of your space, and I'll bring my own side dishes."

"If you have other guests, I'll wait outside, and when you're not busy, I'll come in. Is that okay?"

"I won't interfere with your business."

Usually, when someone is polite and says something like "come over for dinner sometime," if you actually go, it would just make them awkward.

Zhou Yan was trying to use this literal approach to embarrass the other party, but who would have thought that King Dong would smile even more brightly?

"Sure, that works perfectly! With you, Fellow Daoist, holding down the fort at my little bar, the value will increase significantly."

"Since you've said so, Fellow Daoist, you can't come less often in the future. Otherwise, if one day you don't come, those people will think I've lost my power."

After saying this, Tang Pu laughed loudly again; it was clear that he really loved to laugh.

But when he laughed, Zhou Yan couldn't laugh anymore.

"Right, I almost forgot what my status is."

A person of his level coming to station himself here to support Tang Pu, without charging money and just mooching some wine—no matter how you look at it, Tang Pu is the one profiting.

So, what I thought was me mooching wine from him, now that I hear him say that, it has turned into him mooching off me.

"Why is it that after hearing that, I feel like I lose regardless of whether I come or not?"