Chapter 656: The Meat-and-Wine Monk

What shocked Ding Hao was that not only were the complexions of these 20 crossdressing girls as fair as snow, they were also beautiful and had great inner strength. They were all experts of the Six-apertured Martial King Realm. The war steeds they were riding on were all snowy-white lion breeds, worth ten thousand taels of gold.

They were like fairies patrolling the human world under moonlight, totally ethereal and untainted by the mortal realm.

The noisy crowd suddenly quietened down the moment this company appeared. Everyone silently held their breath and made no sound. Before the cavalcade arrived, everyone had taken the initiative to make way for it.

The scene was most bizarre, as if someone had suddenly pressed the mute button of a live movie stream. The scorching eyes of everyone were glued on the luxurious white canopy, as if wanting to tear it down with their eyes and see into the inside.

Ding Hao's eyesight was as keen as a knife. He could vaguely see that behind the white canopy, a woman in white was sitting quietly there in a picturesque pose.

At the same time, as if detecting Ding Hao's gaze, the woman sitting behind the white gauze canopy raised her head slightly. Her eyes, sparkling like stars in a dark night, met Ding Hao's.

Gazing through the white gauze, Ding Hao could not help being flabbergasted, his mouth parched and his throat dry. A strange sensation instantly flowed through his entire body like an electric current.

He immediately coursed the Mind Essential around his mind to dispel the evil thoughts, and his thinking became clear again. "What a close call," he said to himself. At that moment, his soul had almost slipped out of control and was hypnotized, nearly falling under the spell of that terrible illusion.

The woman in white was a rare, highly-skilled martial artist.

Golden Cicada, who had been sitting opposite gazing entranced at the scene below, also let out a soft cry of surprise.

"It's getting a little interesting." Golden Cicada smiled, got up, and said, "Waiter, the bill please." Then he smiled and said to Ding Hao, "I want to visit the Golden Boat of the Nine Heavens Mystic Fairies. I wonder if you're willing to accompany me?"

A monk on a brothel boat?

Looking at Golden Cicada's expression, he did not seem to be joking.

When he lowered his head and looked again, Ding Hao found that the white cavalcade below had reached the wharf. The company was walking on the surface of the water, looking like they were treading dry land without causing any ripples, stepping on waves. They finally got on the Golden Boat. He had an idea, and replied with a nod, "Very well then, let's visit the boat to enrich our experience."

The two got up, but Evil Moon, that fat cat, was still crouching and wolfing down food on the table.

The food here was extremely exquisite, far better than that in the Northern Region. The greedy cat had already finished more than a dozen people's share, almost devouring every single dish in the restaurant, and still wanted more.

"Forget it, you'd better stay here and continue eating." Ding Hao shook his head and threw the manager a high-grade mysterious crystal. He said, "Go ahead and give this cat as much as it can eat. Let it eat until it can't move anymore."

"Meow, that's very kind of you. I like you a little more now." Evil Moon raised its feline paws and smiled with satisfaction.

The manager was a little stunned as he watched Ding Hao and Golden Cicada descend the stairs, but he still could not help but stick out his tongue.

This restaurant was famous on the Chu Riverbank, and in the past, many customers had gobbled up food worth a thousand taels of gold in a meal. It had also received numerous distinguished and eccentric guests. Yet it was the first time someone had thrown him a high-grade mysterious crystal and allowed a stupid-looking pet cat to gorge itself with food.

"Meow, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and serve me the dishes! Give me the most expensive food in your restaurant. Remember, I don't want good food, only the most expensive ones." Evil Moon bared its little baby fangs and howled at the manager.

"Sure, sure, please wait for a moment." The manager immediately ordered the waiter to see to it.

It was really a strange fat cat. Not only could it speak, it could also eat a lot. Ever since it started eating, the food that this fat cat had devoured would have gorged an elephant to death.

"Hey you two, what are you doing? Stop!" The warrior guarding the wharf shouted.

Before Ding Hao and Golden Cicada could board the golden boat, they were immediately blocked.

However, Golden Cicada acted as if he did not hear them and sauntered ahead languidly. The warriors were furious and stepped out to stop them, but failed. By the time they turned their heads, the two of them had already slipped through the crowds like shadows and stepped on the boarding plank.

"Damn it, someone's trying to barge onto the boat. Apprehend them!" The leader of the warriors was furious.

But right at this moment—

"Back off, let these two distinguished guests come up the boat." A saccharine female voice rang out from the Golden Boat of the Ninth Heavens Mystic Fairies.

The warriors in charge of maintaining order immediately stepped back.

Ding Hao and Golden Cicada did not care much about what was going on. Stepping on the boarding plank, their figures flashed and the next moment, they were already on the deck. A refreshing aroma wafted out, and everything before them glittered with a magnificent golden sheen. They seemed to have come to another world within an instant.

Ding Hao looked back and found that the noise from the nearby wharf was now completely isolated. No noise of any kind could be heard here.

"Most distinguished guests, this way please." A young beautiful woman in a tight white warrior's suit appeared, smiling, bowing and welcoming them while leading the way.

This woman was also a master at the Primordial Realm, her skin as fair as snow, her eyebrows picturesquely drawn, with an elegant bearing. Dressed in a warrior's suit, she looked extremely heroic, offering a unique allurement to men. Her tight warrior's suit also outlined the curvatures of her body. A mere look of her back figure would have intoxicated many men.

After walking more than 20 meters down the deck, they came to a passageway that resembled a waterside corridor.

This corridor likewise was resplendent and magnificent. The pavilions on the boat were exquisite and meticulously carved, with every detail coming from a master's hand, engraved with all kinds of intricate patterns—charming miniatures of humans, birds, fish, and insects, like part of a fairyland. Glistening and surrounded by a golden shimmer, they seemed alive, swimming about slowly.

There was always a hint of a smile playing on Golden Cicada's face, as he regarded the place.

With his cassock and bald scabby head, Golden Cicada's appearance in such a place had indeed caught the attention of many men. Occasionally, a few would point at him and make rude remarks. However, this young monk from Great Leiyin Monastery seemed not to have heard them, his face remaining calm and equable all this time.

Ding Hao looked around him and was secretly shocked.

This golden boat was in fact a gigantic Precious Weapon. Almost every inch of the boat was engraved with hard-to-detect inscriptions, at an extremely profound level containing great power. What was more, there were traps under almost every step of the corridor. Once triggered, the entire boat would be instantly sealed and locked, with anyone below the Martial Emperor Realm unable to take another step.

"This precious boat would be worth the accumulated wealth of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect over these many years."

Ding Hao sighed.

It was really an eye-opener.

The wonders of the outside world were far beyond his imagination.

No wonder so many warriors from other provinces used to call Snow Province a barbarian land. Seen from this perspective, they were not wrong.

There were many people on the golden boat, at least a thousand of them.

Peals of women's laughter and men's loud discussions could be heard faintly. In the distant tall pavilion, a woman in white was dancing within a silver mist, as graceful as a fairy. Everyone they met walking hither and thither had extraordinary comportments.

Although it was a brothel boat, it was not as debauched and extravagant inside as he had imagined. Instead, it was somewhat fresh and elegant.

"Distinguished guests, we have arrived. Please come with me." The female warrior leading the way led them into a hall with an area of many hundred square meters.

"Many thanks, lady almsgiver." Golden Cicada nodded, and casually handed the woman a high-grade mysterious crystal, acting like a natural and experienced patron. Ding Hao suspected that it was not the first time he had visited a house of pleasure.

The young female warrior thanked him with a smile, and only then did she turn around and leave.

Ding Hao looked up, surveying the place.

It was a magnificent big hall in front of him.

On the dance floor in the center of the big hall were six beautiful young women wearing silver gauze fabric, dancing and swaying their hips gracefully, like dancing celestial fairies in the moonlight. At the southern end of the dance floor, there were three rows of neatly arranged musical instruments resembling bronze bells, with more than a dozen female musicians dressed in pale-yellow palace attire playing attentively, their hair coiled up in high buns.

The dancers and musicians were all extremely young girls with outstanding looks.

On the other three sides of the dance floor were exquisite tables, set with all kinds of sumptuous dishes, giving off alluring aromas. People of all ages, both young and old, were seated on the chairs by them. Their strength was all extremely good, with even the weakest at the Primordial Realm. Dressed in finery, they were toasting one another with raised goblets, enjoying the wine, song and dance.

There was a golden board hanging high outside the hall, which read—

"Human Pavilion One."

It seemed that this hall was called "Human Pavilion One".

There were less than ten vacant seats remaining in the hall. Golden Cicada walked in, found an empty seat, and sat down. Dressed in a cassock, he attracted lots of attention and elicited many whispers the moment he appeared. Everyone was pointing at him and discussing him.

Ding Hao hesitated for a moment, then he walked in as well and sat down next to Golden Cicada.

"Hahaha, it's really strange these days. One's a bald ass with scabs on his head, the other a juvenile scholar. How dare they come on board the golden boat tonight, ah haha!" A young man opposite them who looked in his 20s, said in a queer, high-pitched voice, an imperious expression on his face.

Golden Cicada picked up the wine goblet on the table before him and took a sip. He said nothing.

Ding Hao did not want to make any trouble either. Since he was leaving Chu City tomorrow, there was no need to take this man who merely looked pretty but was worthless chaff seriously.

Unexpectedly, when the young man saw that Ding Hao and Golden Cicada ignoring him, he thought that they were afraid and became more and more audacious. He guffawed and said, "Bald monk, you are so depraved, getting on a brothel boat and drinking wine. Does your Master the Buddha know anything about this?"

The others also started chuckling loudly.

Golden Cicada finished the goblet of wine in one go. His expression did not change as he slowly put down the goblet, looking extremely intoxicated.

The next moment, he suddenly exhaled a breath reeking of wine, and the whole hall was suddenly filled with its aroma.