Volume Two: Winds Rise in Anxi Prefecture Chapter 147: Northern Daoist Hall of Mu

The first day of June.
Ren-yin, Yi-si, Yi-you.
Favorable for weddings, traveling, and moving; no taboos.

Early in the morning, Lu Jiuzhang woke up and was just about to head to the Taoist Hall when a servant came to report that someone was looking for him outside the [Yingtian Restaurant].

Lu Jiuzhang had no acquaintances in Anxi Prefecture. Who could it be?

Pacing outside the [Yingtian Restaurant], Lu Jiuzhang caught sight of a familiar tall back.
Who else could it be but Guard Mo?

Lu Jiuzhang felt a pleasant surprise.
Guard Mo and Lu Jiuzhang had a good relationship, and the former had looked after Lu Jiuzhang for some time before. Although Guard Mo had later been recalled to Anxi Prefecture without completing his mission, their personal friendship remained solid.

"Lord Demon-Slaying Envoy!"
As soon as they met, Guard Mo offered his congratulations, "When I left that day, Lord Lu was still just a handyman. How much time has passed, and Lord Lu has already been promoted to Demon-Slaying Envoy!"

"A mere county-level Demon-Slaying Envoy, hardly worth mentioning," Lu Jiuzhang laughed. "Guard Mo, please don't mock me. Let's continue to address each other as friends!"

"Then I will presume upon our friendship and call you Brother Lu."
Guard Mo had many conflicting emotions.
He had never expected that Lu Jiuzhang would genuinely carve out a path to survival.
Now that the other man had been promoted to Demon-Slaying Envoy, his status was already far superior to his own.

"Speaking of which, how did Guard Mo know I had arrived in Anxi Prefecture?"
Lu Jiuzhang asked.
About this point, he was quite curious.

"..."
Guard Mo hesitated for a moment before replying, "Brother Lu underestimates our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, don't you? Our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has branch offices spread all across the Great Xia Country, and our intelligence network is highly developed."

"If Brother Lu wishes to buy intelligence, you are welcome to come to our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. Of course, the trade of intelligence cannot include government secrets."
"This is the regulation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Brother Lu, please don't make things difficult for us."

Lu Jiuzhang had originally intended to spend some money to gather intelligence on Assistant Magistrate Wang, but with Guard Mo putting it this way, Lu Jiuzhang dismissed the idea.
If he could find out what Assistant Magistrate Wang's weaknesses were, Lu Jiuzhang would have nothing to worry about; he could strike directly at those weaknesses, drag Assistant Magistrate Wang down from his position, and completely destroy him!

"If there is any need in the future, I will definitely look for Guard Mo!"
Lu Jiuzhang cupped his hands in salute.

"Let's go. As I promised before, if you ever came to Anxi Prefecture, I would treat you to the finest pleasure quarters in the prefecture," Guard Mo said.
When he had said those words back then, Guard Mo had been certain that Lu Jiuzhang would definitely not survive.

Unexpectedly, not only had the man survived, but he had also safely arrived in Anxi Prefecture, which somewhat exceeded Guard Mo's expectations.
However, since the words had already been spoken, going back on them was not something a true man would do.

"Pleasure quarters?"
Lu Jiuzhang suddenly recalled something.
Miss Muyun had also come to Anxi Prefecture. Where was she?
Anxi Prefecture was dozens of times larger than Changshui County, and the pleasure quarters here were even more numerous.
Trying to find Miss Muyun in this vast sea of humanity would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

"It is still early, no need to rush."
Lu Jiuzhang looked at Guard Mo and said, "I've only ever heard of visiting the pleasure quarters to seek romance in the evening. Who goes looking for romance bright and early in the morning?"

"That's true too!"
Guard Mo nodded. "Then, for the time being, I can take you around to see the sights of Anxi Prefecture."

"Let's go to the Taoist Hall!"
Lu Jiuzhang said. "I am quite interested in the Taoist Hall. Changshui County has no such place."

"Brother Lu has fine tastes, planning to go experience the Taoist Hall not long after arriving in Anxi Prefecture," Guard Mo laughed. "How about this, I'll treat you to some cultivation practice at the Taoist Hall."
Guard Mo calculated that the cost of visiting the Taoist Hall was much cheaper than going to the pleasure quarters.
If the two of them went for a night out at the best pleasure quarters in Anxi Prefecture, it would wipe out more than half a year's salary of his.
Curses on his big mouth for making such a boast earlier about treating Lu Jiuzhang to the finest pleasure quarters in Anxi Prefecture.
Guard Mo wanted nothing more than to give himself a couple of heavy slaps across the face.

"There are five Taoist Halls in Anxi Prefecture. Let's go to a closer one today. The manager of that Taoist Hall and I are somewhat acquainted," Guard Mo said. "I'm not boasting, but there are too many cultivators in Anxi Prefecture, and the Taoist Halls are packed to capacity every day."
"If you have a bit of connections, you can cut the line and wait a lot less."
Guard Mo made up his mind to broaden Lu Jiuzhang's horizons today.

...

The incense burned down by one stick's length later, the two stood before the entrance of a Taoist Hall.
This Taoist Hall was named [Beimu Taoist Hall]. Among the five Taoist Halls in Anxi Prefecture, it wasn't the absolute best, but it wasn't bad either.
The best private chambers inside were by no means inferior to the Taoist Halls in Beilu Commandery.

At the very front was a gate tower, and the side rooms to the left and right of the gate tower served as the registration office.
Lu Jiuzhang and Guard Mo entered the right side room. Above the counter sat a wooden board detailing the usage fees for the private chambers of [Beimu Taoist Hall].
There were six tiers in total, with the lowest-grade room costing ten taels of silver per hour.
For every tier higher, the fee doubled.

The highest-grade private chamber cost three hundred and twenty taels of silver per hour.
This speed of making money—tsk tsk tsk, wouldn't that mean hundreds of thousands of taels of silver coming in every day?
Being a middleman is truly wonderful!
Since people weren't allowed to cultivate inside the city, anyone wishing to cultivate had to come to the Taoist Hall. Presumably, the Taoist Hall also paid substantial taxes to Anxi Prefecture.

"Brother Lu, let's enter the lowest-grade private chamber. Although it's the lowest grade, the cultivation environment is quite decent," Guard Mo said slowly after calculating the silver in his pockets.
"Besides, the lowest-tier private chambers are numerous, which saves us from waiting too long!"

With that, Guard Mo looked at the servant behind the counter. "Where is your manager? Tell him that Guard Mo of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has come, and ask him to come out and meet me!"
Guard Mo usually came to the Taoist Hall for cultivation as well, and after doing so many times, he had become acquainted with the manager.
However, that familiarity was limited to merely knowing each other; how close they actually were was another matter entirely.

"Please wait a moment, Guard Mo!"
The servant hurried into the inner courtyard.

After a full several minutes, the servant finally emerged and said respectfully, "Guard Mo, the manager is currently accompanying an important guest in the back. Please wait here for a moment!"

"This..."
Guard Mo felt as though he had been slapped in the face.
He had thought that in front of Lu Jiuzhang, he could show off how well-connected he was in Anxi Prefecture, only to suffer a setback the moment he arrived.
Guard Mo's face flushed slightly. "Then let's wait a moment. There's no rush."

Subsequently, Guard Mo looked at Lu Jiuzhang. "Brother Lu, important figures frequently come to the Taoist Hall to cultivate. It's likely another big shot is here right now, and the manager is accompanying them."
"It shouldn't be long. Once the manager has made arrangements, he will come out to receive us."

"No rush."
Lu Jiuzhang smiled and didn't mind.
He was indeed very interested in the Taoist Hall.
In this place, he couldn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations at all.
There should be quite a few people cultivating inside, yet they were entirely unable to cause any impact on the outside world. For that feature alone, it deserved praise.

It was said that Beilu Commandery also had Taoist Halls.
In those major places, once powerful figures began to cultivate, the spiritual energy within tens of thousands of li would be exhausted, severely affecting the normal operation of the prefectures and commanderies.
Therefore, the Great Zhou Dynasty had established regulations prohibiting cultivation within the cities.