Chapter 91: Jin Manjue

This inn actually cost five hundred wen a day, and that only included breakfast. It didn’t cover lunch or dinner, and hot water for bathing was charged separately.

Staying here for a single day would cost seven hundred wen, even without any other expenses.

And this was just a random inn they had picked. While the location wasn’t remote, it wasn’t in the prime district either.

Lian Li turned to look at Yun Huizhou, wanting to ask if they were being ripped off, but upon seeing Yun Huizhou’s accustomed expression, he understood—this was simply the normal level of consumption in Linjiu City.

Composing his expression, Lian Li pulled out two taels of silver to hand over, but Yun Huizhou spoke up at that moment: “One room.”

The shopkeeper looked up at them, his expression unchanging, seemingly used to such things.

After registering, the two went upstairs.

Lian Li had originally thought that a room costing five hundred wen a day would surely be different from those costing a hundred-odd wen.

As it turned out, once he went inside—ha! There really wasn’t any difference. It was just purely expensive.

***

Jinzui Tower.

A man dressed in brocade robes was currently taking a booklet from a bookshelf to flip through it.

He looked to be about thirty years old. One entire side of the room he was in was a massive bookshelf filled with many booklets.

Each booklet had a serial number on its side. Looking closely, one would find that these numbers represented dates.

The man flipped through the booklet with a smile on his face, seemingly extremely satisfied with the contents.

Suddenly, a slight noise came from outside the window. However, the man did not become alert because of the sound; he continued to read the booklet.

It was hard to tell if he was truly enthralled by what he was reading or if he simply had confidence in the security of his residence.

But regardless of the reason, he was destined to suffer a setback today.

In the next instant, his window was pushed open, and two figures darted in from outside.

Only then did the man seem to be jolted awake, turning his head toward the window.

Before he could even speak, he felt something icy-cold pressed against his neck.

His expression turned terrified, his movements stiffened, and his eyes widened. He glanced sideways and finally saw clearly what was pressed against his throat.

A blade.

He opened his mouth and said in a low, hurried voice, “Great Hero, spare my life! My treasure chest is under the bookshelf, in the third cabinet from left to right.”

“The key is on the third shelf from the top, in the fourth compartment.”

“Great Hero, please spare my dog’s life!”

Lian Li and Yun Huizhou, who had just climbed through the window: “…”

The two looked at each other, both seeing a hint of surprise and speechlessness in the other’s eyes.

Lian Li couldn’t help but whisper, “Buddy, you’re certainly straightforward.”

A stiff smile squeezed onto the man’s face as he said, “Haha, wealth is but an external possession, while my little life is of the utmost importance.”

Lian Li nodded in agreement and said, “You’re right. So, for the sake of your little life, you’ll probably answer our questions, right?”

The man said without the slightest hesitation, “Rest assured, I will truthfully answer both of you even if you ask how long my old man can last with his concubine.”

Lian Li: “That won’t be necessary. We aren’t very interested in the affairs of your father and his concubine.”

The man: “Oh, I don’t have a wife or a concubine. If you’re curious about me, I’m afraid you won’t get an answer.”

Seeing that Lian Li wanted to continue the banter, Yun Huizhou quickly spoke up. He said to the man, “Stop rambling. If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll cut you.”

The man said weakly, “Oh…”

Lian Li also knew they had business to attend to at Jinzui Tower, so he stopped chatting with the man and got straight to the point.

“Where is the Master of Jinzui Tower?”

The man fell silent.

Seeing this, Yun Huizhou pressed the blade closer to the man’s neck.

The chill from the blade caused goosebumps to instantly break out on the man’s neck.

“Speak quickly. You don’t want your head to hit the floor, do you?” Lian Li threatened fiercely.

A smile squeezed onto the man’s face again as he answered, “The Master of Jinzui Tower… is precisely this humble one. May I ask what business you two Great Heroes have with me?”

As soon as he said this, not only Lian Li, but even Yun Huizhou showed a look of disbelief.

Seeing their expressions, the man knew they didn’t believe him, yet he maintained his smile and said, “It’s really me.”

Lian Li: “I don’t believe it.”

Yun Huizhou: “You?”

Seeing that Lian Li was even pulling out his weapon, the man hurriedly said, “Great Hero, let’s talk this out, let’s talk this out.”

Lian Li cracked his whip in front of him and said, “Speak! Where is the Tower Master?”

The man looked sincere as he replied, “Believe me, Great Heroes, I really am the Master of Jinzui Tower.”

Seeing the man insist that he was the Master of Jinzui Tower, Lian Li looked at Yun Huizhou, asking with his eyes what they should do.

He had only heard Yun Huizhou explain Jinzui Tower to him before. The Tower Master’s martial arts were roughly on par with Lian Li’s, and he was extremely fond of beauties. After founding Jinzui Tower, he mainly focused on one thing:

Ranking the Beauty Rankings for women, the Handsome Men Rankings, and the unisex Beauty Ranking.

The criteria for the women’s Beauty Rankings and the unisex Beauty Ranking were quite similar, except the unisex Beauty Ranking did not distinguish between genders.

The criteria for the Handsome Men Ranking, however, were somewhat different from the other two. For example, someone like Yun Huizhou would definitely be on the Handsome Men Ranking, but he didn’t fit the criteria for the unisex Beauty Ranking.

Because of this, the women’s Beauty Rankings and the unisex Beauty Ranking were often discussed together, while the Handsome Men Ranking was usually set aside for separate discussion.

As a result, the Handsome Men Ranking wasn’t as popular as the other two lists.

Yun Huizhou was also somewhat undecided at the moment. He hadn’t paid much attention to Jinzui Tower before, so he didn’t know much information. He truly couldn’t judge whether this person was the Master of Jinzui Tower, Jin Manjue.

Seeing that Yun Huizhou was also hesitating, Lian Li knew that Yun Huizhou probably hadn’t expected this situation either and hadn’t thought of a solution yet.

Thinking of their purpose for coming here, Lian Li spoke again. He asked the man, “You say you’re the Tower Master, so you can change the rankings on the Beauty Ranking, right?”

The man immediately said with a look of determination, “I will never arbitrarily tamper with the rankings for anyone. This is my, Jin Manjue’s, persistence, and it is my respect for the beauties of the world.”

“Oh.” Lian Li looked at Yun Huizhou. “In that case, this person is useless. Let’s kill him.”

“Great Hero, to which rank do you want to change it?” Jin Manjue said.

Lian Li: “…”

He agreed so quickly—just how much weight did this Beauty Ranking actually hold!

Yun Huizhou didn’t think that much. He raised his hand to seal the internal energy of this man claiming to be the Master of Jinzui Tower and then withdrew his blade.

He wasn’t afraid of the man shouting; in any case, he could always kill him with one strike before anyone arrived.

After the blade was withdrawn, Jin Manjue stretched his neck and gave Lian Li and Yun Huizhou a fawning smile.

He asked, “Which of you two wants to change a ranking? Or do both of you want to change them?”

Yun Huizhou pointed at Lian Li and said, “He wants to change it. Hurry up and bring the Beauty Ranking over.”