Chapter 30: Pinching Two Virtual God Realm Experts to Death

"You want to bury yourselves, or should I help you dig the hole?" With a smile, Liu Qi said these words, instantly chilling the air in the entire hall.

The few remaining customers, sensing the tension, hastily dropped their chopsticks and fled. They knew Liu Qi had a penchant for burying people alive.

Even the deputy minister of the Department of Rites, who was in the Virtual God Realm, was forced to kneel by him with a single hand.

Now, it seemed like another burial was imminent, and blood might be spilled.

...

"You knew about us already?" Feeling the unreleased killing intent hovering above them, the elder's pupils contracted.

However, he quickly calmed down and said coldly, "We are both in the Virtual God Realm. I don't believe you can suppress both of us with just one hand!"

"Black and White Heroes of the Demon Path, you annihilated the Qingyang Clan. Originally, I didn't dare to suppress you with just one hand..."

Liu Qi looked at them as if they were fools, and continued, "But you happened to eat hotpot, and someone skilled in poisoning arrived on the island. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"You used poison?" The two were immediately shocked and quickly mobilized their energy, only to find their dantians empty!

"I wasn't lying to you!" Liu Qi smiled and said, "Our boss asked me to ask, who has the audacity to send two Virtual God Realm experts to kill him?"

"We acted on our own accord! No one ordered us!" The elder's eyes were fierce, but his voice revealed a hint of fear. "As Virtual God Realm cultivators, you should know that although poisons can erode our dantians, they cannot affect our souls!"

"So what?" Liu Qi asked.

"So you cannot take action against us! We can instantly send our souls out, and even if that old woman guards Chen Zhi'an, she won't be able to stop us from delivering a fatal blow with our dying breath!"

"Oh? I don't believe you..." Liu Qi raised an eyebrow, pressed his palm down, and heard two sounds resembling watermelons being crushed. The heads of the two Virtual God Realm experts exploded.

Liu Qi picked up a tablecloth and wiped the blood off his hands, then carefully stabilized their bodies, making them look as if they were just drunk, to avoid startling other customers.

"Now, you can send your souls out!" Liu Qi smiled.

The souls of the Black and White Heroes were stunned.

They didn't expect Liu Qi to actually take action.

While Virtual God Realm cultivators could send their souls out, it didn't mean they could completely escape their physical bodies. If their souls did not return within three days, they would perish.

Only those in the Virtual God Realm, who had cultivated their Dao Seeds, could rely on their Dao Seeds to sustain their souls.

Liu Qi had pinched their heads, and unless they found suitable bodies to possess within three days, they were doomed to die...

With life and death at stake, the two souls glanced at each other, no longer concerned with revenge.

They disappeared in an instant before Liu Qi.

They planned to present Chen Zhi'an's head as proof of their loyalty. Perhaps, there was still a chance for them to survive...

Outside the Treasures Pavilion, a burly, white-haired old man suddenly looked up, disdainfully glanced at the two souls that had arrived in an instant, and reached out to grab them from the void.

Like catching chicks, he grasped the souls and then gently squeezed!

"Crack!"

The two souls instantly turned to ashes.

The old man disdainfully clapped his hands, as if brushing off dust...

At the top of the Treasures Pavilion, Chen Zhi'an was listening to music and receiving a report from his personal secretary, Li Lanqing, about the night's results. He had no idea about the deaths of the two big shots outside.

It was nearly midnight, and most of the customers had left the island. The remaining ones were either influential figures who were not afraid of the Qingdao Masters, or ordinary guests who needed accommodation. In any case, it was time to count the money.

"Boss, so far, the revenue from the tavern, gambling house, theater, singing and dancing halls, disco, and brothel totals seventy-six thousand four hundred and twenty-nine taels of silver. A preliminary estimate indicates a profit of forty-nine thousand two hundred taels of silver..."

Li Lanqing recited the summary of tonight's income from the accounts book, her eyes full of shock.

She knew that the brothel would certainly make money, but she didn't expect to make so much on the first day. A total of seventy thousand taels of silver! Considering her previous income at Qingle Pavilion, she would have to work without eating or drinking for a hundred years to earn that much.

But this was just the earnings from the brothel for one night.

Although not pure profit, it was still staggering. 

Even Grandma Yu, who was hiding in the shadows, turned her head in astonishment upon hearing this number.

Li Xinning might not understand the significance of these earnings. As a maid serving Lady Yu, and the steward of the Xibo Marquis Mansion's petty treasury, she understood how difficult it was to earn money...

In the earlier years when the Xibo Marquis guarded the Western Frontier, the annual income from risking smuggling along the border was only around eighty thousand taels of silver.

Yet this brothel was just a small place, and yet it earned over seventy thousand taels in just one night?

"Don't be too optimistic!" Taking the account book, Chen Zhi'an said as he looked through it, "This is just the beginning for the brothel. With our strong publicity, the people of Chang'an are just seeking novelty. After tonight, at least one-third of the guests who came to the island will not return.

In turbulent times like these, not everyone can afford five taels of silver to come to the island!

But after tonight, the brothel can establish itself in Chang'an!

Slow and steady wins the race; there's no need to rush!"

After reviewing the account book, Chen Zhi'an continued, "Give five thousand taels to everyone as a bonus. The rest should go into the treasury for now. The gambling house's capital is too thin to catch any big fish."

"Yes!" Li Lanqing replied with a slight surprise.

The wages given by the brothel were already much higher than elsewhere. Even the servers received two taels of silver per month. The managers received an astonishing five taels, with seven days of leave each month.

With nearly seven hundred employees on the island now, even if the five thousand taels were evenly distributed, each person would receive seven taels, which was higher than three months' wages...

"After all, the boss didn't make the wrong choice!" After muttering under her breath, Li Lanqing left, finally letting go of her resentment towards the flower courtesan.

As soon as Li Lanqing left, Liu Qi entered.

"Boss, the two Virtual God Realm experts have been buried. I planted a willow tree at Treasures Pavilion and personally buried their bodies..."

"So fast?" Chen Zhi'an's face lit up. The presence of those two Virtual God Realm experts lurking in the shadows had made him uneasy. He had even kept Lady Yu behind and spent ten spirit stones to activate Treasures Pavilion's defensive array, fearing that those two big shots would attack him without any scruples.

Unexpectedly, they were quietly buried by Liu Qi.

"We have to thank Lady Yu's Fallen Spirit Powder. Otherwise, Golden Pavilion would have been destroyed!" Liu Qi nodded slightly into the darkness, then bowed slightly.

Lady Yu hastily stood up and returned the gesture, expressing her gratitude.

Although she was old, she was only in the Virtual God Realm. Liu Qi, on the other hand, was a powerful Virtual God Realm expert who could easily destroy her existence with just one hand. She dared not show any disrespect.

To be honest, she still hadn't figured out Liu Qi's background. She had a vague feeling that this brothel owner was not as simple as an ordinary Virtual God Realm cultivator. After all, ordinary Virtual God Realm cultivators wouldn't have the qualifications to kill two Virtual God Realm experts with just one hand.

Whenever she thought about him asking for Fallen Spirit Powder to protect the brothel from being destroyed, rather than worrying about not being able to defeat those two assassins...

She felt absurd!

A Virtual God Realm expert could establish a sect or hold a position in the court.

Yet he was managing a brothel, and he was willingly working under Chen Zhi'an, who hadn't even entered the Innate Realm yet, and he seemed content with it...

The reason behind this was beyond her comprehension!

"Liu Qi, did you find out who sent them?" Chen Zhi'an wasn't as shocked as Lady Yu, but he was more concerned about who wanted to kill him. After all, his two elder brothers were much deeper in hiding than this fellow.

"They didn't. I was afraid they would recover and destroy Golden Pavilion, so I killed them directly."

Liu Qi said calmly, "But it doesn't matter who sent them. Anyone who causes trouble in the brothel is digging their own grave!"