Black Tiger walked to the table, clasped his hands in a fist and said with a smile, "My brothers are ignorant and have offended you. Please forgive them, young master."
Xiao Nuo then slightly raised his eyelids and lazily dragged out his voice, "I think your brothers know what's good for them."
“Young Master Zhang, you’re just saying that out of anger. I’ve already taught those eight fools who got drunk and caused trouble with you that night a lesson. I’ve come here in person to apologize. Why don’t we move to a private room and talk some more?”
"What a convenient excuse for drunken brawl, he's managed to wash his hands of it all." Xiao Nuo said calmly, "It happened three days ago, and you still remember it, Black Tiger? I'd almost forgotten. No need for apologies. If we weren't here for the cooperation, I don't think we'd have anything to talk about."
Black Tiger looked around. Everyone who had been listening intently quickly lowered their heads and pretended to be nonchalant as they continued drinking and chatting after his gaze swept over them.
Black Tiger lowered his voice and said, "Actually, that's why I came here. Young Master Zhang, let's talk in the inner room."
"Can you make the decision?" Xiao Nuoha smiled, a hint of mockery in his eyes and brows. "How about this, Xiao Chenchen, you go to this Black Tiger's inner chamber." The implication was clear: Black Tiger couldn't make the decision and wasn't worthy to discuss business with him.
Even though Black Tiger had been holding back for as long as possible, he finally changed color and asked, "What does Young Master Zhang mean by this?"
"The meaning is simple: I want to see Seventh Brother." Xiao Nuo's directness surprised me. Wasn't he afraid that Black Tiger would discover we were the ones who sneaked into his house that night? However, since he was doing this, he must have his reasons. So I remained calm and observed Black Tiger's reaction.
Black Tiger looked confused and said, "Seventh Brother? What Seventh Brother? There's no seniority system among my subordinates, so where does this 'Seventh Brother' come from?"
Xiao Nuo sneered, "Since I can call out Seventh Brother's name, you should know that I had already found out the exact information before I came. Otherwise, why would I look for Seventh Brother instead of Fifth Brother or Sixth Brother? I don't think I need to explain such a simple reason to you, do I?"
Black Tiger stood silently to one side, his brows furrowed.
Xiao Nuo raised an eyebrow and said, "Alright...alright...since the other party isn't sincere, I won't force them. My shop will open in three days, and I would appreciate it if Master Black Tiger would do me the honor of having a drink. Little Chenchen?"
"Yes!" I stepped forward and gestured "please" to him. "My young master doesn't like so many people standing around when he's having fun. Please leave."
Black Tiger's facial muscles twitched, a fierce glint flashing across his face before disappearing in an instant. He said in a deep voice, "It seems I truly underestimated Young Master Zhang's connections. Since Young Master Zhang knows of Seventh Brother's existence, and he's right here in this hall, why can't you recognize him?"
What?! I was shocked and immediately looked behind Black Tiger. There were six followers behind him, all of them burly young men. They were skilled in martial arts, but their eyes were immature. No, it wasn't them.
I turned to look at the pleasure-seekers in the hall. There were forty-seven of them, plus the beautiful women and their entourages, making it well over a hundred. For a moment, I couldn't really tell who was the most suspicious.
Xiao Nuo calmly drank a cup of wine, smiled lazily, and said, "You're saying Seventh Brother is in this hall? That's strange. None of these people look like him... Black Tiger, I advise you to give up. Instead of wasting time testing me, you should let me meet the real Seventh Brother sooner. Otherwise, I'll think you have no sincerity at all."
Black Tiger's face twitched again, and I immediately knew that he had deliberately said that to test me. Sure enough, after considering for a moment, he whispered a few words to his subordinate, who hurriedly left. He returned shortly afterward, respectfully saying, "Young Master Zhang, Seventh Brother requests your presence."
Xiao Nuo then pushed away the prostitute in his arms, slowly got up, and I helped him as he was led by the man in the brocade robe through a long corridor to a room. As soon as the door opened, a wonderful fragrance wafted out.
Inside, the beaded curtains were half-rolled up, and the furnishings were even more exquisite than those outside, yet only a lamp was lit on the table. The lamp swayed gently, and in the center of the room sat a chair, where a person sat quietly.
The lights were dim, and his appearance was blurry.
A sense of unease suddenly arose in my heart, but Xiao Nuo remained calm and unhurried, stopping to smile at the pimp and saying, "Is your Spring Night Pavilion so stingy and frugal that you can't even bear to light more lamps?"
The man in the brocade robe immediately broke out in a cold sweat. The person on the chair said, "This lighting is just right. Haven't you heard that seeing a beauty under lamplight is like seeing flowers through mist, enhancing her beauty even more?"
Xiao Nuo laughed and said, "I have heard of her, but are you a beauty?"
"Why not?" When he said this, his voice completely changed, becoming indescribably melodious, like the first spring breeze blowing across a lake, creating ripples that stirred the soul.
Anyone who hears such a voice would not doubt the person's beauty.
Xiao Nuo paused for a moment, then touched her nose and said, "Did I go to the wrong room?"
"You don't."
"I remember the person I was supposed to meet was called Seventh Brother, I think."
"I am Seventh Brother."
Xiao Nuo tilted her head, then suddenly turned to me and said, "Little Chenchen."
"exist!"
"What does it mean if a woman calls herself Seventh Brother?"
I saw the sarcastic smile in his eyes and immediately replied in agreement: "This suggests two possibilities. One is that this person is a man dressed as a woman, and the other is that this woman is disrespectful of rules and regulations, reverses yin and yang, and tries to dominate the world and not be inferior to men, but does not realize that it only shows that she is insecure and dares not face her own identity as a woman."
Xiao Nuo's eyes flickered a few times, and his smile deepened. At the same time, the man in the chair was indeed provoked by me and shouted, "Someone, light the lamp!"
A spark flashed, the light came on, illuminating the entire room and the person's face.
She had high-arched eyebrows and bright eyes. Although she was not young, her beauty was in no way inferior to that of a young girl. On the contrary, she had a more mature charm.
She really does seem like a woman destined for great things.
Xiao Nuo smiled again, walked over with a smile, pulled up another chair and sat down facing her, saying, "When I went out today, a magpie called to me, and I knew that something good must happen. I didn't expect it to be even better than I expected."
Seventh Brother raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's so good about it?"
"Because doing business with a beautiful woman is much more interesting than doing business with a vulgar man."
"Then I hope you'll continue to find it interesting, young master." Seventh Sister said, stretching her hand behind her back. Immediately, a man in black handed her a booklet.
My gaze was immediately drawn to the man in black, or more precisely, to the ancient sword he wore at his waist. If I wasn't mistaken, the value and fame of that sword were probably no less than that of the legendary Chenshui sword of Mr. Tang Yong.
The person who can carry such a sword must be a master not to be underestimated. And such a master is standing behind Brother Seven as a follower. Just what kind of powerful character is this Brother Seven?
For some reason, I suddenly had a strange feeling that the man in black had winked at me, but when I looked at him again, he had returned to his cold and gloomy appearance.
Seventh Brother flipped through the booklet in his hand and said leisurely, "Young Master Zhang, is your mother's asthma any better?"
Your mother? I was stunned, and in an instant, cold sweat broke out on my palms! Oh no! Xiao Nuo and I had come to Baili Town disguised as noble young masters from Jiangnan to deceive everyone, relying on the fact that Jiangnan was far away, and even if Black Tiger and his men wanted to investigate our background, it would take them some time. That time should have been enough for us to get to the bottom of things. Could it be that they hadn't shown their face for days to investigate us? Had they found anything? What exactly was written in the booklet she was holding?
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Nuo remained calm and smiled slightly, saying, "Seventh Brother must be mistaken. The one with asthma is my father. My mother passed away many years ago."
I was stunned. Where did Xiao Nuo get this idea from?
Seventh Brother then asked, "Why didn't you bring your wife along on this trip? I've heard she's the most beautiful woman in Jiangnan."
Xiao Nuo replied, "Seventh Brother is wrong again. I avoid my wife like the plague, how could I dare to bring her out and embarrass myself? If it weren't for my father-in-law being so formidable, I would have divorced her long ago!"
The more he talked, the more outrageous it became. What was he even talking about? I found it both funny and frustrating. This little guy's ability to improvise was truly remarkable.
Unexpectedly, Seventh Brother closed the booklet, raised his eyes and said: "Zhang Xianfang, 27 years old, from Pingyang in Jiangnan. His father, Zhang Ding, is a highly respected doctor in Pingyang Town. Three years ago, he married Mo Pingting, the only daughter of Prefect Mo Yuanzhi, and has been tormented ever since. You are afraid of your wife like a tiger and dare not resist, so you use alchemy to escape and vent your anger, and stay at home all day."
Huh? What was she saying?
Xiao Nuo blinked and said with a grin, "Ha, you know me so well, I wonder if you could be considered my 'confidante'?"
Seventh Brother said coldly, "I didn't expect you to have stumbled upon the right thing and actually concocted a new cold-resistant powder, so you brought it to Baili Town to see if there were any business opportunities, right?"
Xiao Nuo spread his hands and said, "You already know everything, so I don't need to say anything more."
Seventh Brother waved his hand, and an old man with white hair walked in carrying a small box. He put the box on the table, opened the lid, and inside was a thick stack of silver notes, the top one of which had a face value of one thousand taels.
"You've come here seeking nothing more than wealth. Here's two hundred thousand taels; just nod your head and you can take it back."
Xiao Nuo laughed and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to leave the new formula for the Cold Relief Powder before I go back?"
Seventh Brother stared at him coldly without saying a word.
Xiao Nuo turned to me again and said, "Little Chenchen, if someone offered you 200,000 taels of silver for your new medicine prescription, would you agree to it?"
I scoffed, "Using golden eggs to buy a hen that lays golden eggs? Even a fool wouldn't do something so foolish."
Xiao Nuo looked at Seventh Brother and sighed helplessly, "Did you understand?"
Seventh Brother's cold eyes looked at me, swept over my face a few times, and then looked away, saying, "I advise you, young master, to accept it."
"What if you don't accept it? If the toast doesn't work, then you'll have to drink a penalty shot?"
Seventh Sister didn't say anything, but the man in black behind her took two steps forward in a threatening manner.
Xiao Nuo curled her lips, revealing a playful expression: "Little Chenchen."
"exist."
"In your opinion, how much is this man's sword worth?"
"Young master, it's worthless."
Under the light, the man in black shuddered.
Xiao Nuo asked, "Why?"
"Because his sword is broken." Before I finished speaking, I made my move and flicked his scabbard. By the time he reacted, I had already withdrawn my hand and retreated behind Xiao Nuo, finishing the rest of my sentence, "And a broken sword is worthless."
The man in black drew his sword in horror, and sure enough, only half of it remained inside. The look in his eyes at that moment was really amusing... Wait! Why only the look? His face remained unchanged, without the slightest alteration.
Disguise! With my extensive experience, I immediately thought of this possibility.
Seventh Brother roared, "Useless thing, get out of here!"
The man in black glared at me, put down the lamp, and left dejectedly.
Seventh Brother turned his gaze back to me and said in a deep voice, "This young man's martial arts skills are quite good."
Xiao Nuo sighed and said, "Alas, there's nothing I can do. Although this is my first time leaving home, I still understand the principle that 'a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.' Without someone like this by my side, what would I do if someone made me drink both a toast and a penalty drink?"
Seventh Brother's expression changed, and after a long while, he said, "Young Master, just say it directly, what do you want?"
“It’s very simple. I need your supply and connections to promote this new drug together. We’ll split the profits 30/70, you get 30% and I get 70%.”
Seventh Sister stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled. Her smile was both charming and alluring, a complete change from her previous cold and arrogant demeanor.
“Young Master Zhang—” she called out.
Xiao Nuo exclaimed "Eh!" and beamed as she turned to approach her. The two faced each other, nose to nose, very close.
"Do you know how the income from selling cold medicine in Baili Town is divided?" she asked with a smile.
"I don't know, please tell me, Seventh Brother." Xiao Nuo smiled as well.
"It's zero, compared to ten!" As he said the last word, Seventh Brother suddenly reached out with lightning speed to grab Xiao Nuo's face. My heart pounded with anxiety!
She wasn't trying to hit Xiao Nuo, but rather to grab the human skin mask on his face. Did she somehow discover something?
In an instant, a chill swept through my entire body.
But she was quick, and Xiao Nuo was even faster. He grabbed her wrist in a flash. She struggled, but he grabbed her other hand as well, placed it against his chest, and laughed, "No wonder people say women are like cats, they all like to scratch people... But you really are beautiful. How about this, if you're willing to give yourself to me, I'll take a loss and we'll split it fifty-fifty, how about it?"
Seventh Brother's wrist was gripped by him, and he was held captive in his arms, unable to move. He was so angry that his face turned red. Several people rushed into the room. Xiao Nuo said coldly, "If you're not afraid of her dying, then feel free to come and try."
Those people hesitated for a moment, then stopped and dared not go any further.
Xiao Nuo then gave up, looked down at Seventh Brother and smiled again, her voice as gentle as if it were mixed with honey: "Final price, 60/40, I get 60 and you get 40, do you agree?"
Seventh Brother glared at him angrily, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Fine!"
"I believe that even though you're a woman, you can keep your word." Xiao Nuo finished speaking, released her, turned around, and stretched lazily, saying, "I'm really tired after exercising so much today. Little Chenchen—"
"exist."
"let's go."
The men by the door moved a few times, seemingly trying to stop them, but Seventh Brother said, "Let them go." They had no choice but to step aside and make way.