Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Merfolk Pavilion
The Merfolk Pavilion had five floors, and each floor sold different goods.

On the first floor, they displayed all kinds of delicate accessories, such as hairpins carved from fish bones. They felt like jade, and a small defensive formation was carved into the body of the pin, combining beauty and practicality.

Yu Zhao rarely wore accessories. First, she had been short on money in her early years. Second, most of the disciples on Lone Moon Peak were men, so her sense of beauty had not yet been developed.

Now that she saw the dazzling array of accessories in the Merfolk Pavilion, Yu Zhao became very interested. She picked out many items that looked good and were useful, planning to give them to Senior Sister Zhou, Mu Ye, and the others when she returned.

She had never lacked spirit stones to begin with. On top of that, she had robbed all the savings of the Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum. She could be called rich and bold.

She called over a female cultivator in charge of receiving guests at the Merfolk Pavilion and had her hold a tray. Anything she liked the look of, she bought.

Because there were so many accessories she liked, the tray quickly filled up. At once, other female cultivators came up holding trays and took turns.

Yu Zhao’s way of spending money like water drew the attention of the other customers on the first floor.

Many people glanced over at her without making it obvious.

Little Red saw this and grew anxious. She kept winking hard at Yu Zhao.

When she saw that Yu Zhao did not react at all, she gathered her courage and tugged on Yu Zhao’s sleeve, whispering a reminder: “Senior, Senior, you should not show off your wealth!”

Yu Zhao lifted her head and looked around.

The faint pressure of a Golden Core cultivator flowed out naturally as her gaze moved.

Everyone in the first-floor hall of the Merfolk Pavilion shuddered inside and hurried to retract their gazes.

In the cultivation world, Divine Transformation cultivators were very rare, and Nascent Soul cultivators were already existences like ancestors of a region and seldom walked around outside. Golden Core cultivators were almost the strongest people most would ever see and were not ones to be provoked lightly.

You could see this from the fact that the top assassins of the Shadow Pavilion, the Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum, were at the Golden Core stage.

After Yu Zhao revealed the aura of a powerful expert, no one dared look in her direction again. Some even stepped aside on their own when she came near, to show respect.

Stars seemed to shine in Little Red’s eyes.

She had lived in Nanming City since she was little, relying on just herself and a few younger brothers. The people she admired most were strong, confident female cultivators like Yu Zhao.

She was extremely glad that she had recommended herself when this Senior entered the city. Today’s experience would be enough for her to savor for the rest of her life.

After Yu Zhao finished walking around the first floor, she turned her gaze to the second floor.

The Merfolk Pavilion’s female cultivator was quick-witted and eagerly came forward to introduce things to Yu Zhao: “Immortal maiden, the second floor of the Merfolk Pavilion sells special foods from the Nanming Sea. You can eat them here or take them out. They are a top choice whether for yourself or as gifts.”

[Special foods?]

Yu Zhao instantly thought of that terrifyingly ugly fish.

She asked tentatively: “I heard there is a sea beast called the Blubber Sea Monster, and its meat is very tasty. Do you have it on the second floor?”

The female cultivator smiled even more warmly. She said: “Of course. The Blubber Sea Monster is one of our Nanming Sea’s main specialties. Our Merfolk Pavilion has also developed many different ways to cook it, to satisfy every customer’s taste.”

Yu Zhao hesitated for a moment but still chose to step up the stairs to the second floor.

She really was not curious about whether eating Blubber Sea Monster meat could make her more beautiful. She was simply going up to broaden her horizons!

At this moment, the happiest person was Little Red.

The second floor was a place she had never set foot in, full of unknown, mysterious charm.

Even if she could not taste anything, just smelling it would make her content.

Between the first and second floors, the Merfolk Pavilion had set up a spell formation to block smells.

The moment Yu Zhao stepped onto the second floor, the fresh scent lingering in the air vanished. It was replaced by a meat fragrance that could not be described in words.

She and Little Red both could not help taking a deep breath. At once their mouths watered, and their appetites opened wide.

The layout of the Merfolk Pavilion’s second floor was very different from the first. Perhaps to separate the different ways the food was prepared, the second floor was divided into square stalls, and each stall was for a different kind of sea beast.

The female cultivator thought that because Yu Zhao had brought up the Blubber Sea Monster, she wanted to taste it. So she led Yu Zhao and Little Red straight to the stall that sold Blubber Sea Monster meat.

She said: “Immortal maiden, these are all kinds of foods cooked with Blubber Sea Monster meat. The toothpicks on the side are for sampling.”

In front of the stall was a long table. On the table stood several square wooden boxes. Each box held food prepared with a different cooking method.

After being cut up and cooked, the sea beast meat no longer looked anything like it had at first, and the resistance in Yu Zhao’s heart eased a lot.

She picked up a toothpick and speared a meatball.

The outside of the meatball was golden, crisp, and fragrant. With a light bite, rich juices flowed into her mouth along with the smell of meat.

Yu Zhao’s eyes lit up.

The fish meat had been beaten again and again until it was firm. Its texture was crisp and bouncy, with not even a hint of fishiness. Instead it carried a light sweet taste. It was a delicious flavor Yu Zhao had never tried before.

She picked up another toothpick and was about to hand it to the young girl watching eagerly behind her. Then she thought for a moment, changed her mind, and used a fresh toothpick to spear a fish ball before handing it to Little Red.

She said: “Try one too and give me your opinion.”

Little Red was just about to refuse, but she swallowed the words.

She told herself that she was not being greedy. She was helping to share her Senior’s burden.

With that thought in mind, Little Red carefully bit into the fish ball. The fresh, sweet flavor burst at once on the tip of her tongue.

Her eyes flew wide open, and her face was full of disbelief.

Yu Zhao found her adorable and asked with a smile: “How does it taste?”

Little Red nodded hard.

She had never eaten anything so delicious!

She even had the urge to cry.

Luckily she remembered her task clearly and forced back her tears. But the way she looked at the fish balls was especially regretful.

Her younger brothers had never tasted such good meat either. She really wanted to take some back so they could try it too.

Of course, Little Red only thought about it in her heart. She could not lose face for her Senior.

The female cultivator suggested: “You can also try the braised fish version. It is different from the fish balls.”

With so much good food in front of her, Yu Zhao no longer thought about what the Blubber Sea Monster had looked like.

Following the Merfolk Pavilion female cultivator’s recommendations, she ate piece after piece of sea beast meat cooked in different ways from different species. At the same time she did not forget to feed Little Red as well.

Half an hour later, Yu Zhao headed for the third floor, completely satisfied.

Her storage space was now packed full, with several hundred food boxes of sea beast meat, which she planned to slowly enjoy during her travels.

Although cultivators from other places came to shop at the Merfolk Pavilion every day, customers who spent as freely as Yu Zhao were rare. Most people only bought a few things to try.

It was rare for the female cultivator to meet such a big customer, and she was also a straightforward female Senior who did not make trouble. Her attitude toward Yu Zhao was like she was facing a God of Wealth, enthusiastic and thoughtful.

She explained: “Senior, the third floor sells unprocessed parts from sea beasts, mostly used for artifact forging and alchemy.”

As she spoke, the three of them had already stepped onto the third floor.

Compared to the lively first and second floors, the third floor was much quieter. There were less than one-tenth as many customers shopping as on the second floor.

There were no stalls on the third floor. Instead, they had taken small samples of every kind of sea beast material and arranged them on different walls according to type, so that one glance could take them all in clearly.