Chapter 127: Is She Really That Expensive?

Faced with Su Yi’s somewhat startled expression, the attendant at the tea hut merely chuckled and said indifferently, “This isn’t one of those major cities. Getting tea and water here is naturally more difficult. Once the cost goes up, so does the price. What is it, young man? Don’t tell me you can’t even afford a mere cup of tea.”

Though the attendant’s tone was not especially harsh, Su Yi still detected a faint threat in his final words. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Quietly releasing his soul perception to investigate, Su Yi was somewhat surprised to discover that this otherwise inconspicuous attendant was actually a seventh-level fighter.

After a moment of surprise, Su Yi understood quite a bit. Many of the people who came and went here were mercenaries and the like. They tended to have hot tempers, and most had killed before. It was inevitable that disputes would sometimes escalate into violence, with people refusing to pay afterward. If the tea hut did not have several powerful people protecting it, it probably would not last long here, much less make any money. Even an ordinary attendant was a seventh-level fighter, so the overall strength of the tea hut was clearly far from weak.

Even so, monopolizing resources and raising the price at will was one thing, but fifteen gold coins for a cup of tea was still outrageously excessive. From the faintly astonished and mocking expressions on the faces of the others, Su Yi could tell that the tea was indeed expensive, but evidently not worth fifteen gold coins. He had clearly been singled out for extortion. As for why they had chosen him rather than anyone else, it was probably because he was young and carried no aura of battle qi.

Su Yi sighed inwardly. He glanced at the attendant, his gaze sweeping casually around the room, and said, “So everyone else can afford to pay that much for tea?”

The attendant’s expression changed slightly at those words. After giving a dry cough, he looked up and stared at Su Yi as he spoke slowly. “You don’t need to worry about other people. You only need to pay your own bill. If you can’t pay, then I’m afraid something unpleasant may happen…”

The threat in his voice had grown more pronounced, yet he showed no concern at all. Whoever had the stronger fists was in the right. Even if the other party were a fifth-level fighter, he could still extort him thoroughly, let alone this ordinary-looking youth who had apparently never cultivated battle qi. When one encountered an ordinary traveler like this, one simply had to fleece him ruthlessly. If one did not take advantage of him, someone else would.

The others in the tea hut heard everything, but none of them spoke up. Some even secretly snickered. They had no intention of offending anyone for the sake of an unknown nobody like Su Yi, and now they watched the scene unfold as though it were a show. They were curious to see how this pale, somewhat sickly young man would end up dealing with the situation. After a tiring journey, a little entertainment was not unwelcome.

There were naturally a few kindhearted people among them, but they did not dare speak up for Su Yi either. They were afraid that the demand might fall upon them next, forcing them to pay fifteen gold coins—or even exposing them to a beating. Thus, they could only remain aloof and tell themselves that Su Yi was merely spending money to avert disaster, learning a lesson and gaining some experience. Since he had dared to travel alone, he ought to have been prepared for something like this.

Seeing that Su Yi remained silent, a trace of menace flickered through the attendant’s eyes. He gave a mocking laugh. “What? You don’t want to pay?”

“Of course not.” Su Yi suddenly smiled faintly. He reached into his robes, rummaged around for a moment, and pulled out a handful of gold coins, tossing them onto the table. Then he said, “Here are thirty gold coins. Bring me another cup of tea.”

The attendant was stunned at first, but quickly recovered. He sneered inwardly. At least the boy knows his place. Certain that he had Su Yi firmly under control, he swept the coins into his hand and turned to prepare the tea.

Seeing this outcome, quite a few people wore expressions that said they had expected nothing else. After all, the attendant was a seventh-level fighter. If Su Yi confronted him head-on, he would only be the one to suffer. Still, Su Yi’s generosity was rather surprising. Thirty gold coins was not an enormous sum, but spending that much on two cups of tea was a sure sign that he had allowed himself to be made a fool of.

Whatever the case, the mocking and contemptuous looks in everyone’s eyes were unavoidable. After all, this was the behavior of the weak, and no one respected it. Even those who had previously wanted to help Su Yi subconsciously felt that he should at least have resisted a little. Otherwise, he appeared far too spineless.

If Su Yi had known what they were thinking, he would probably have been speechless. They wanted him not to resist, yet also hoped that he would resist. These people really had nothing better to do.

Ignoring the various gazes and whispered conversations around him, Su Yi sat there and slowly drank his second cup of tea. He naturally had his own reasons. If the gold coins had been earned through his own hard work, he certainly would not have made such a cheap gift of them. But, strictly speaking, all these gold coins belonged to someone else anyway. Spending someone else’s money did not pain him nearly as much.

As he neared the end of his tea, Su Yi prepared to leave. Suddenly, a red figure leaned close to him, followed by a rich fragrance that assailed his senses. The scent was so strong, and carried such a seductive, wanton quality, that Su Yi—unaccustomed to it—felt dizzy for a moment.

When he recovered and took a closer look, he discovered that the newcomer was a fair-skinned, beautiful married woman dressed in an alluring and provocative manner. Her seductive eyes darted back and forth as though she wanted to devour him whole.

His heart stirred slightly as he vaguely guessed what sort of woman she was. Just as Su Yi was about to speak, the woman giggled and slid one hand over his body.

“Little brother, would you like me to keep you company?”

“Haha, that little temptress saw the boy had money and immediately stuck herself to him. She sure moved fast!”

“What else would you expect? That’s her trade. Yesterday, I had a good time with that shameless woman, but judging by the looks of things, I still didn’t satisfy her. Damn it!”

There were plenty of travelers resting at this market. After a long journey, men naturally wanted to relax properly. Aside from sleeping, what else could they do but sleep with women? It was therefore no surprise that women who made their living through prostitution could be found here. The fair-skinned beauty was clearly one of them, and judging from everyone’s familiarity with her, she seemed to have quite a reputation.

Her clothing was extremely revealing, clearly designed to display as much of her pale skin as possible. Her soft white arms were connected to a broad expanse of snowy cleavage, while the exposed flesh of her breasts was pressed together into a deep ravine, appearing exceptionally soft and smooth. Her fair thighs were also bare. Even beneath the red fabric of her dress, much of her full, rounded buttocks remained exposed, drawing numerous greedy gazes from both near and far.

“Damn, that ass is so big it makes me want to pin her down and have my way with her! Who knows how many men made it grow that way?”

More and more vulgar remarks began to fill the room. Yet the fair-skinned beauty merely laughed seductively. She did not seem offended by the others discussing her body; if anything, she appeared to take some pleasure in it.

Su Yi frowned slightly and was just about to tell her to leave when a burly man entered the tea hut. His gaze swept across the room, and upon spotting the woman, he gave a leering laugh before walking over.

“You little slut, weren’t you supposed to keep me company? What are you doing here?”

The burly man dropped into a chair, reached out, and pulled the fair-skinned beauty into his arms. As she let out a soft cry, he thrust one large hand onto her ample buttocks and began kneading them vigorously. Judging by the ease of his movements, he had clearly done this countless times before.

As his hand continued to squeeze and fondle her, the woman’s sensitive body curled up. In full view of everyone, she released a faint moan like the cry of a cat. Watching her pale, fleshy buttocks shift beneath his hand, many of the onlookers swallowed hard, their eyes reddening with desire. If they had not been wary of the burly man’s strength, they probably would have rushed forward and taken their turn with the woman.

Su Yi narrowed his eyes slightly. He sensed that the burly man was actually a tenth-level fighter. Within the tea hut, apart from Su Yi himself, this man was undoubtedly the strongest.

The man continued to torment the woman’s soft flesh, an obscene smile spreading across his face as he looked at Su Yi. “What is it, little brother? You want a turn with her too?”

“No need.” Su Yi shook his head calmly. “I’ll leave her to you.”

The burly man merely gave a mocking laugh at his refusal. His eyes swept over Su Yi, and when he found no trace of battle qi on him, the contempt and brazen arrogance in his gaze deepened.

“How about this, then? You pay for two shares, and the two of us can enjoy this slut together?”

At that, quite a few people around them understood what was happening. Given the burly man’s usual behavior, he was clearly planning another trick to bleed the young man dry. Many of them cast sympathetic looks toward Su Yi. First he had been extorted, and now he was about to be fleeced again. His luck was truly terrible.

Then again, what difference was there between carrying money around without any strength to protect it and a little lamb wandering into a pack of wolves?

The two of them together?

Su Yi frowned. He glanced at the fair-skinned beauty and saw that she showed no unusual reaction at all. Clearly, she had played this sort of game many times before. From the burly man’s words, he also sensed something else. Could the two of them be working together to swindle him?

“Two shares? How much would that be?” Su Yi asked, testing the waters.

“Ten thousand gold coins each!” the burly man said, one word at a time, his voice carrying a faint chill.

What the hell? Ten thousand gold coins for a single night with this woman? Did he think she was some kingdom’s princess?

When the people present heard the price, their hearts trembled. Some nearly spat out the tea they had just swallowed. They cursed inwardly, but because they feared the man’s strength, none of them dared say anything aloud. They could only cough several times.

“Is she really that expensive?” Su Yi was also startled. Since he had no idea what the going rate was, his tone was filled with uncertainty.

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Peak of Martial Arts, Chapter 127: Is She Really That Expensive? Complete.