Chapter 8: Lotus Platform with a Constantly Smiling Mouth

  "Good timing, Little Drunken Master! I've prepared the good wine just in time for your arrival." The waiter held a round wine jar in his left hand and a large ceramic plate with a floral pattern in his right hand. As he spoke, he had already arrived in front of One Drunken and respectfully presented the plate filled with wine to the pirate who was leaning on the wooden table. Then, he lifted up an overturned bowl from the table and helped One Drunken fill it with wine. The entire sequence of movements flowed smoothly like a cloud drifting by, done in one swift motion.

  As a small enshrined deity of the Huajiao Wine House, the pirate has been highly respected since he once displayed his divine might and chased away two drunken Qianyuan cultivators. The greatest benefit is that he can drink for free, although the pirate rarely follows One Drunken to the wine house. However, being an enshrined deity is a kind of deterrence, and the Huajiao Wine House's shopkeeper considers it one of his most satisfying accomplishments to have invited the pirate as an enshrined deity. For the sake of this free drink, the pirate still works diligently and responsibly. Compared to the cost of inviting a Qianyuan cultivator as an enshrined deity, the amount of wine the pirate drinks is negligible. The shopkeeper originally wanted to waive One Drunken's wine expenses as well, but was politely declined. Taking someone's money and helping them with their troubles are two different things; there are some things that the pirate can do recklessly, but he cannot offend people, for it is not a good thing to wrong others.

  He didn't say a word, and with one gulp he downed half the bowl. The fragrance of the wine entered his belly through his teeth, leaving an aftertaste that was endless. After a brief pause, he poured down the remaining half bowl.

  The little waiter saw that the drunkard was drinking happily, and his big mouth opened wide, revealing two rows of large yellow teeth. His eyes rolled around and looked at the small mother pig who was looking around, carefully sizing her up for a while before speaking out: "Drunk Little Master, is this plump little mother pig going to be cooked to go with the wine? Our restaurant has just hired a new head chef, and his skills are quite good." As he spoke, the little waiter heard someone calling from the back room on the first floor, immediately turning his head to respond with a "yes", then turned his head back around. "The dishes are ready, Little Master, please wait for a moment, I'll go get them right away."

  Xiao Zi Xuan was originally curiously sizing up the various people in the wine house, when she suddenly felt that the small second with a lewd face was staring at her with an extremely strange gaze, as if staring at food, making her feel hairy all over. Suddenly, she also heard the small second suggest to One Drunk to cook her, which scared her badly. The four pig hooves were unstable and the whole fat body fell on the table, causing the table to shake and the pirate to directly put his face into the wine bowl. He hastily called out: "Don't eat me, don't eat me, I'm all skin and bones..." Feeling like she was about to cry, even One Drunk sympathized with the unlucky Xiao Zi Xuan from the bottom of his heart.

  The pirate discontentedly shook his head and glared at Xia Zi Xuan, but unfortunately Xia Zi Xuan didn't see it at all, so it was like casting pearls before swine.

  When Xiao Zixuan stuttered, the guests at several tables around them held their breath. The little waiter who was about to serve wine and dishes froze for a moment, feeling a chill run through his sleeves, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

  Monster! Still a very fierce monster!

  This is everyone's first reaction.

  But when did the little pig become so against the heavens? This is my second reaction, after all it's not like anyone can see through Mother Spider's transformation technique at a glance. As a spiritual beast, Pirate is already quite formidable, and ordinary cultivators aren't its match. But in reality, Pirate still can't speak!

  Is this world crazy?

  The number of demons in the cultivation world is not small either. In the cultivation world, they are called demon beasts, and in the demon world, they are called little demons. If their cultivation reaches the point of transformation, they are called great demons. In fact, there is not much difference between the two. Among cultivators, there is also a class of beast masters who specialize in summoning and controlling demon beasts to fight.

  With a wave of his hand, he signaled to Xiao Er that everything was fine and to go ahead and serve the wine and dishes.

  Xiao Zi Xuan, if she were in her true form, might not be able to use some of the innate divine abilities of the Tian Hu clan, but now they have all turned into little mother pigs and can't even beat ordinary wild beasts.

  Of course, there were also some greedy and fervent glances that swept over frequently. One was drinking wine calmly, making it impossible to fathom the depth of his thoughts. Even if he had some ideas, he didn't want to reveal them in front of everyone. At this time, on the second floor, a corner was pressing against a large table. The banker shouted at One: "One, little master, do you want to buy a card? It's about to start."

  With a glance at the gaming table, he saw that there was a stranger who seemed to have won a lot of money, all of which was bet on "big". Many people were following his bets. With a faint smile, Drunken shouted: "Bet small, and I'll cover today's drinks."

  The landlord immediately burst out laughing, and without waiting for others to continue betting, he turned over the wine bowl, didn't even look at the number of dots on the dice, and turned his head to shout at the shopkeeper who was watching the excitement: "Today's wine money is on me, Little Drunken Master!"

  The stranger who had been full of confidence stared with wide eyes, it was clearly a big one, his secret trick was sure to work every time. But just as the bowl was lifted up, the big one turned into a small one! He was very certain that the banker hadn't done anything fishy, there were cultivators all around, and it would be almost impossible to use spiritual techniques to cheat under so many eyes, unless you had reached the Nascent Soul stage. But which Nascent Soul cultivator would come to such a small place to cause trouble?

  "Impossible! It's clearly a big one!" Lian Ben and Li immediately lost everything, and the unfamiliar gambler suddenly became anxious.

  "Hmm, how do you know it's big? It's actually small. Brothers, come on, this kid is faking it, he must be hiding something on him, search him." The old gambler who had just broken the crystal stone saw an opportunity and immediately stirred up his fellow gamblers. Whether or not they could find any evidence of cheating was uncertain, but one thing was for sure - the stranger would be stripped clean.

  "Who dares!" The stranger's face changed, if the treasure was found, he would be skinned alive. This small place was both the safest and most dangerous for this kind of speculative person, drawing his weapon to attack.

  The pirate grandpa saw the situation and let out two loud barks, like a sharp arrow shooting forward. The stranger gambler hadn't even reacted yet when he was knocked to the ground by the pirate. The people around wouldn't miss this opportunity to beat up someone who's already down, so they all rushed over.

  The shopkeeper of the wine house didn't intervene, and some old wine guests were also nonchalant, watching the show with great interest. After all, these people knew what was at stake and wouldn't take it too far, but what pleased the shopkeeper the most was the pirate's swift and deadly move. If the wine house's protector could occasionally show off his skills in the wine house, it would be a great deterrent to some petty thieves.

  Xiao Zi Xuan looked at the pirate in surprise as he reappeared at the wine table, but with a questioning gaze towards Yi Zui: "How did you know to open small?" She had observed the gambling table when she first went upstairs, surrounded by so many people, which naturally piqued her interest. The stranger gambler won every round, and yet Yi Zui said one word, "buy small", and he lost miserably. She couldn't understand it at all, and Yi Zui was too far away to have manipulated the game.

  He picked up a small dish of appetizer that Xiao Er had just brought over, and with great enthusiasm, he said absent-mindedly: "I say small, so I open small."

  "Hmph, if you don't want to say it, then don't say it. Who are you trying to deceive? Xiao Zixuan felt a surge of annoyance in her heart towards Yiyin's drunken nonsense. If everything he said was true, wouldn't that make him the most formidable person in the world? In her mind, this was already the most powerful divine ability."

  It wasn't long before the stranger was stripped down to just a white undergarment, and his belongings were thoroughly searched. Sure enough, a magical artifact was found hidden in his ear, concealed by his hair. This artifact was indeed ingenious, as it could amplify sound waves without using any spiritual energy, which explained how the stranger had been able to hear the dealer's voice.

  The landlord didn't want to monopolize it, so he gave this exquisite treasure to Yizui. The other old gamblers also got something from that fake gambler, although some were greedy for the treasure, but in the end they restrained themselves. This kind of thing is too dangerous, and if it's discovered in a small wine tower, let alone being taken to a real casino, wouldn't you be chopped off your hands and feet and thrown out?

  Feeling Xiao Zi Xuan's unease, Yi Zui didn't linger in the wine house and spent a few crystal stones to buy a gourd of good wine from the shopkeeper. He walked out of the wine house with ease and composure.

  One drunkard stepped out of the gate, and some wine guests in the wine house hesitated for a while, got up several times, but finally sat down again. The pirate's performance just now was still vivid, and it can be said that even the little sow had become an existence comparable to the Condensation Master. In the past, wasn't it looking for death?

  Winding through the densely packed houses, having passed through the most prosperous area, one sees a row of earthen buildings. With just a casual glance, one can see piles of goods stacked up high. Those who have lived in Nanhua for long enough know that the treasures, materials, and pellets sold here are all extremely cheap. Even if some precious items cannot be bought, it's still possible to find something with similar functions. What's more, this place often has new and unusual goods on display, making it a favorite haunt of cultivators who aren't particularly wealthy.

  One intoxication was just a glance, and he saw the big man with the nickname "Pan Bao", who was selling a treasure to a big man with a painful expression. The big man looked at Pan Bao's painful expression and felt pleased in his heart, turned around and left with a smile, brushing shoulders with One Intoxication.

  "Pan cake, that thing looks good, is there any left? Fifty-five pieces of first-class crystal for one, I could hear it earlier, and that big guy even offered a hundred pieces of crystal." Drunkenly smiling, he looked at the tall and majestic Pan Cake with an expression as if he had already eaten him up.

  Pan Bian's large, calloused hands were gently stroking the crystal he had just earned, when he suddenly heard someone calling his nickname. He was about to muster up his energy and try to negotiate a higher price, but as soon as his copper bell-sized eyes landed on Zui, they went dull like a deflated balloon. Silently, he picked up the last remaining Lotus Platform with a smile and handed it over to Zui.

  One Drunk has already eaten his fill of the defective lotus platforms, which had a problem during production and couldn't be assembled properly, leaving a big gap that greatly affected its appearance and quality. Although it's not as stable as a qualified lotus platform and wobbles, it's cheap. He took all the defective lotus platforms from the doorway and has already sold four today. One Drunk quoted 55 crystal stones for it, which would still allow him to earn five crystal stones.

  Xiao Zi Xuan watched Pan Bian's changing expression, and curiously asked Yi Zui: "How did you know he would sell for that many crystal stones? The big man from earlier spent half a day grinding to get only 100 first-grade crystal stones."

  "I've known Pan Bian for a long time, his little tricks can't fool me. You don't know, this guy can make 50 crystal stones and pretend to be in pain, make 40 and he's clutching his chest, make 30 and he's wailing, make 20 and he's convulsing all over, and if he only makes 10, he'll even pretend to faint."

  One intoxication weighed the incomplete lotus platform flight treasure in his hand, saying it very casually, and Pan Bian on the side also smiled and nodded in agreement, with a honest and simple face, about the same age as One Intoxication, after so many years, their friendship was naturally not shallow.

  Begging for sharing