It was evening, and a gentle wind drifted across the ever-busy streets of Purplecorn City, one of the biggest cities in the Tang Kingdom.
The citizens went about their day — traders advertised their wares, beautiful women dressed in revealing clothes strolled about seductively to entice potential customers, and big, muscular men flexed their muscles in groups amid plenty of other activities that ensured the streets remained as lively as ever.
On one of the biggest and busiest streets, home to Dragon's Bite, Purplecorn City's largest restaurant, a well-decorated golden carriage pulled by four neat white horses could be seen traveling steadily toward the restaurant.
A group of six armed mercenaries, clad in black robes and armor bearing the insignia of a powerful mercenary organization, rode on separate horses, keenly guarding the carriage.
Although the street was crowded, everyone who saw the luxurious carriage and the armed mercenaries immediately made way, fearful of provoking the important figure being transported. With this deference, the carriage reached its destination without much difficulty.
They halted once they arrived in front of the beautiful Dragon's Bite restaurant, the mercenaries dismounted from their horses, with four of them positioning themselves at the corners around the carriage while two went to open the door, thereby revealing the breathtaking interior as well as the "important figure."
The crowd gathered around to see who this important figure was, and they even began whispering amongst themselves, mentioning names of top families in Purplecorn City while trying to guess who it might be.
At last, the murmurs subsided as the 'important figure' emerged—a below-average looking, fat young man with long black hair and blue eyes, standing about 5'1" tall, clad in an expensive purple robe adorned with intricate golden embroidery—so lavish that the robe alone could feed a family of five for at least one year, including its wonderful foot piece, perhaps even sustaining them for two years!
His luxurious clothing caused the crowd to fall silent for a few seconds in admiration.
However, their admiration was only for the clothes, as it wore off immediately.
"Who is this ugly fatso?"
One young man in the crowd whispered to his friend. Several other people in the crowd asked the same question.
Although he was clad in expensive clothes, drove a beautiful golden carriage, and was escorted by powerful mercenaries—his height and unattractive looks made it almost impossible for the crowd to believe he belonged to any top family.
The fatso overheard the conversation among the crowd and remained unfazed, he turned around and gave a signal to his guards, who obeyed immediately, forming a defensive formation around him as they began strolling toward the beautiful entrance of Dragon's Bite restaurant.
"Welcome to Dragon's Bite restaurant, handsome sir."
At the entrance, two beautiful young women dressed in sexy clothes greeted the fatso and welcomed him inside, with only two of the mercenaries following him in.
The interior of the restaurant, as expected, was extremely breathtaking — from the minute decorative details to the splendid arrangement of furniture, it was nothing short of luxury.
Even the beautiful waitress strolling about, serving the people, added to the beauty of the place.
The fatso could only nod his head in admiration.
"What table do you want, handsome sire?" asked one of the waitresses.
Another waitress quickly proceeded to read out the tables available: "We have bronze, which is the cheapest, then silver, gold, and finally, the most expensive one, which is red."
"I'll go with the gold one," Fatso replied almost immediately.
He was then led to the third floor of the mighty restaurant, which was about ten times more luxurious than the first floor.
The furniture was properly spaced, and only a few high-class customers could be seen dining in this space. A gentle music played in the background, adding more to the class. Fatso and the two mercenaries guarding him couldn't help but smile at the wonderful scenery.
However, while the guards only focused on the designs, Fatso scanned for a potential target.
His eyes landed on a refined young lady gently savoring her dish at a quiet corner. A smile crept onto his face.
'I hope this new look will be able to at least convince this one to not reject my invitation!'
Fatso quickly told the waitress what to bring for him. As she left to fetch his order, he strolled toward the young lady with refined steps that had taken him over two weeks to master.
As he got closer, he obtained a clearer view of the lady — she had beautiful long white hair, purple eyes, and a face perfectly crafted by nature. She wore a white dress that matched perfectly with her hair.
Judging from her appearance, she should be around eighteen or nineteen, which was exactly what Fatso wanted.
As he strolled nearer, he checked for the presence of sect tokens, badges, or any sort of identity token that would prove she was a member of any sect, and luckily he found none — giving him a greater amount of courage and hope to approach her.
"Good evening, my lady. I couldn't help but notice that your grace outshines even the splendor of this fine hall. Might I have the honor of your company for a few moments?"
The white-haired young lady lifted her head gently and met his gaze with her gorgeous purple eyes, there was a hint of confusion in them as she wondered why he had approached her.
Fatso prayed in his heart that his act would at least grant him a chance to speak with her.
Thankfully, his prayers were quickly answered as she offered him the seat opposite hers. Fatso smiled profusely and took the seat.
He leaned in slightly, a gentle smile on his face, "Not just strikingly beautiful, you're also really kind. May I get the honor of knowing your beautiful name?"
"Shengxi Yuan," she replied rather plainly.
"Shengxi Yuan. What a beautiful name, totally befitting of an angel like yourself. My name is Rowan, by the way, and it's my greatest delight..."
Rowan went on for about twenty seconds, sweet-mouthing her.
In the past, with his previous targets, he always went straight to the point with his intention, but this time he wanted to create a little connection before revealing his true motive. This way, his chances of getting rejected would be slimmer — or so he thought.
While he was conversing with Shengxi Yuan, the waitress brought his meal, which was coincidentally the same as Shengxi Yuan's. Of course, he had intentionally ordered the same thing.
Shengxi Yuan frowned, she was already used to guys ordering the same meal as her just to get her attention. It was annoying, but she didn't voice it and continued with her meal instead.
Rowan, on the other hand, did not stop speaking with her, asking questions to which she gave cold and half-hearted replies.
He spoke to her for about two minutes before finally revealing his intention.
"A lady of your grace and talent definitely receives lots of offers from top-class sects. But I don't see any identity token around you, meaning you haven't picked one yet," Rowan began.
Shengxi Yuan nodded and responded, "I'm still considering the options available to me."
Hearing this, Rowan smiled. "Well, I guess it's fate we met today, because I actually have a special sect invitation for you. Of course, only if you're interested."
'I thought his intention was to woo me like the other horny young men, but he has another motive — totally unexpected.'
Shengxi shrugged and asked to see the sect invitation.
Rowan smiled profusely and brought out a wooden sect invitation token. It was engraved with a unique insignia, and the sect name "Scarlet Bean Sect" was carved at the top.
He handed the sect invitation token to Shengxi Yuan with a smile.
She took the sect invitation token from him and observed it.
"We have a vast supply of cultivation resources that would enhance your cultivation journey, along with powerful and ancient unique cultivation techniques..." Rowan began listing all the benefits while she examined the wooden token.
Sadly, those words fell on deaf ears.
Shengxi Yuan's expression had already started turning cold the moment she read the name of the sect. The look on her face at that moment was one of extreme anger, as though Rowan had just insulted her entire bloodline.