Stranger Danger

Chapter 615: Treasure Appreciation Auction

“Very well! Please give me a moment.”

The Hill Carrier’s eyes narrowed into slits as he tapped the bottom of his hill twice. Several breaths later, a beautiful attendant appeared at the entrance to the Hill of Services, and a row of stairs slid all the way to the ground.

The female attendant walked down the stairs and saluted the Hill Carrier first. Then, she looked at Ye Qing and said smilingly, “This way please, customer.”

“Thank you.”

Ye Qing gave the Hill Carrier a nod before climbing up the stairs.

“Would you like an introduction to the Hill of Services, customer?” The female attendant asked while staying half a step behind Ye Qing. Her tone was respectful and polite, but with a tinge of flattery.

“Sure.” Ye Qing nodded.

The female attendant began, “Our Hill of Services has Four Towers and Eight Pavilions. The Four Towers are called Wine, Sex, Wealth and Popularity[1], whereas the Eight Pavilions are called Sun, Moon, Star, Time, Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lightning.”

“But back to the Four Towers for a moment. Wine here refers to the restaurants and eateries, Sex is...”

As he listened to the female attendant’s explanation, Ye Qing gradually figured out each building’s intended functions and services. The Four Towers—Wine, Sex, Wealthy and Popularity—mainly offered leisure and entertainment, whereas the Eight Pavilions—Sun, Moon, Star, Time, Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lightning—mainly offered supply services, information exchange, medical treatment and more.

To put it simply, a Hill of Services was a mobile settlement. It was a place where one could find food, entertainment, supplies, trade, medical treatment and more.

Generally speaking, the stronger the Hill Carrier, the bigger and grander the Hill of Services they carried, and the more complete their facilities became. Since the hill carried by this Hill Carrier was about sixty meters tall, and it had every facility one might expect from a city, it meant that this Hill Carrier was extremely powerful.

“Oh right. In exchange for using our services, we would like you to obey several rules, customer,” the female attendant said.

“What are they?” Ye Qing asked.

The female attendant answered, “One, you must set aside your personal grudges and grievances once you set foot inside the Hill of Services. In other words, you are not allowed to cause trouble or start a brawl while you’re still within our premises. Two, we don’t accept credit. If you lack the money to purchase our product or services, then you will have to offer up a collateral. And three, the Hill of Services do not take responsibility for any grudges and grievances you may incur within our premises.”

“Understood.” Ye Qing nodded in understanding.

He had heard of these rules before. It was why the Hill of Services was considered a safe zone where everyone could rest in peace and safety. Some desperate people also used it as a refuge to hide from their enemies—but only if they had the money to afford the lodging, of course. If someone ran out of money, then the Hill Carrier would throw them out of the Hill of Services no matter who they were.

The first thing Ye Qing saw upon entering the Hill of Services was a wide plaza. Covered in wooden tiles, three sides of the plaza were filled with countless crisscrossing stairs that led toward different pavilions, towers and rooms.

“Where would you like to go first, customer?” The female attendant asked.

“I would like to fill my belly. Please take me to the Wine Tower,” Ye Qing said after a quick glance.

One of the Four Towers, the Wine Tower was the place where all the restaurants, eateries and more were concentrated. It was located at the center of the Hill of Services.

The moment he entered the Wine Tower, Ye Qing was immediately stunned by its luxurious, exquisite decor. Zhennan wood adorned the floors, gem flowers embedded the ceilings, carved balustrades and marble steps marked the paths, and masterful calligraphy and paintings adorned the walls. The furniture were made of pear food, the cups and plates from white jade, and the chopsticks from ivory, and witty symbols and messages from hundreds of flowers.

Here, there was golden luxury and elegant literary culture, down-to-earth folksongs and high-sounding classics and more. The Wine Tower wasn’t just on par with so-called best restaurants of the region such as Number One if Bei You or Beauty Pageant Palace. It was, in some ways, better.

Right now, the Wine Tower was almost completely full, and most of them were jianghu warriors. They were mostly seated in groups, and they were eating, drinking and playing games to their heart’s content.

Ye Qing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the bustling scene. Noticing his expression, the female attendant asked, “We are at the first floor and the main dining hall, customer. There are private rooms on the second and third floor for those who prefer silence and privacy. Would you like to go there?”

“Sure. Let’s head to the second floor,” Ye Qing replied. He didn’t actually mind the rambunctious atmosphere himself, but he wasn’t sure if it was safe for Giggle to appear in public. Besides, he wasn’t lacking in wealth, so why not?

“Can I ask you something, Miss?”

After they entered a private room on the second floor, Ye Qing looked at the female attendant and asked a question.

“But of course, customer,” the female attendant replied.

Ye Qing peered through the window slits at the crowd below while asking curiously, “Is something happening in the Hill of Services or something? Why are there so many people?”

Although the Hill Carrier was beloved by traveling merchants and wanderers alike, they were currently in the middle of nowhere and far, far away from civilization. So, how was it possible for this Hill of Services to gather this many customers? Some restaurants wished their business was this good.

You don’t know?” The female attendant looked surprised and puzzled.

“Should I know something?” Ye Qing shrugged.

“My deepest apologies, customer. I should’ve known better than to assume.” The female attendant apologized before explaining, “You see, tomorrow is our triennially held Treasure Appreciation Auction, and it is quite popular with our customers. Every time it is held, our Hill of Services would be packed with people.”

“Treasure Appreciation Auction?” Ye Qing raised a curious eyebrow.

The female attendant explained patiently, “The Hill Carrier travels to many places, so he often stumbles upon all sorts of rare, precious treasures. Besides that, some of our customers put up collateral such as natural treasures, martial arts manuals and more to purchase our products and services, but are unable to redeem them before their time runs out. In that case, we would claim those possessions as our own permanently.”

“That is why we held a triennial Treasure Appreciation Auction. We don’t need an ever-growing hoard of items that we don’t really need, you see.”

“I see. Thank you for the explanation.” Ye Qing nodded. Long story short, they were holding an auction.

As the female attendant said, the Hill Carrier must possess a lot of valuable treasures since he often journeyed to many places and traded with various travelers and Stranger Hunters. It was definitely worth checking out.

“You’re too kind, customer,” the female attendant replied politely. “The auction will be taking place at the Si Hour[2] tomorrow at Popularity Tower. If you wish to participate in the Treasure Appreciation Auction, I can take you there when the time comes.”

“Thank you. I am in your hands.” Ye Qing smiled.

“It is my responsibility.”

The face Ye Qing was currently using was perfectly ordinary, and yet his smile was positively infectious. Try as she might, the female attendant could not help but feel some affection for him. “Speaking of which, what would you like to eat, customer?”

Ye Qing asked, “What are your recommendations?”

The female attendant smiled. “Our signature dishes are called ‘Nine Suns Scorching Heaven’ and ‘Wind Flower Snow Moon’. Would you like to give them a taste?”

“Can you tell me more?” Ye Qing blinked curiously.

The female attendant launched into an explanation, “‘Nine Suns Scorching Heaven’ is a wine our brewer created using nine fire-attribute spirit fruits such as Fire Date, Yang Pear, Sun Fruit and more. The ingredients are brewed together with a century-old Cold Spring for eighty-one days to create a most delicious and potent spirit wine. It is cool, sweet and refreshing when it initially enters your mouth, but once it enters your stomach, it would burn like nine suns scorching the heavens.”

Besides its unique, fiery taste, it could strengthen one’s body and assist those who cultivate yang or fire.”

“The ‘Wind Flower Snow Moon’ refers to four strange dishes, and all of them are made from a Phenomenon-class Stranger. ‘Wind’ is a roasted Wind Caller, ‘Flower’ is a Flowering Fish that we cooked using a special, secret method, ‘Snow’ is a fried Snow Velvet Rabbit, and ‘Moon’ is a boiled Moon Lotus Seed.”

“Each and every strange dish is perfect in terms of appearance, taste and smell. Not only that, they can assist your cultivation in various ways as well.”

“So, spirit wine and spirit dishes, huh? They sound fantastic,” Ye Qing complimented while scratching his nose. “That said, they can’t be cheap, right?”

The female attendant smiled. “Each individual dish and wine cost five hundred silvers each.”

1. YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE GONE, BUT THEY WERE BACK IN SPIRIT!!! ☜

2. 9 to 11am ☜