ALL NOVEL
Chapter 63: Chapter 63: You Want Me to Drink Foot-washing Water?
The old beggar's eyes were wide open, shining with a fierce brilliance that made him look as if he was ready to devour someone, which was quite unsettling to see.
He had just seen Situ Yanyu's satisfaction, and he wouldn't mind contributing a jug or two of wine for the chance to see the Beauty Bathing Painting every day.
Li Xiaobai cursed inwardly, calling the man a lecher, an indecent old man.
His eyes lit up at the mention of a beautiful woman, was this the carefree nature of a senior expert?
"Of course it's true," Li Xiaobai said earnestly. "Liangchen never speaks nonsense. If I say there's a Beauty Bathing Painting, then there absolutely is one."
"I have no objections to seeing other things, but no one is allowed to look at my Yanyu!"
Elder Situ Kong instantly became nervous upon realizing that several lecherous old men had suddenly appeared in the bathhouse, putting his granddaughter in danger!
"Deal, but you have to give the old beggar a super VIP experience first. If it's as you say, then I will present the wine with both hands," the old beggar said with a sly grin, squinting his eyes.
"No problem, from this moment on, you are our very first monthly VIP, on a trial period of one month!" Li Xiaobai said casually, intent on keeping him there; as long as the old beggar stayed at the store, getting wine wouldn't be a problem.
The old beggar continued to scrub his feet in the water, turning the entire pool a murky green color; it was unclear what kind of filth he was washing off.
Li Ya watched with surprise and suspicion. With the old beggar's face previously covered in dirt, he was unrecognizable, but now, cleaned by the water, why did he seem so familiar to her?
She felt as if she had seen him somewhere before, but couldn't quite remember.
Li Xiaobai frowned; this was not the way to attract customers.
He immediately bought a bag of air purifier in the marketplace.
[Air Purifier: Use to purify the air, clear the mind, and briefly increase the Enlightenment Rate. (10 Lower Grade Spirit Stones)]
Note: Purify the mind, purify filth, purify the air, purify oneself.
This was just one of the small items in the marketplace, but it seemed to work wonders in this world.
After scattering a small bag of Air Purifier inside the room, the rotten and sour smell instantly vanished, and the water in the pool cleared up immediately.
A faint scent of tea even lingered in the air.
"Boss, what is this..."
Li Ya's face was filled with astonishment; the small particles in the air had actually made his understanding of the Cultivation Techniques clearer, which was downright unbelievable.
This boss must be a great master!
The old beggar too looked puzzled, muttering to himself, "This thing is almost as good as the Enlightenment Tea Leaves, though taking a bath is still more comfortable."
"This thing is actually so useful," Li Xiaobai said, surprised. Products from the System, even as simple as a bag of powder, could enhance one's aptitude for enlightenment—truly extraordinary.
"Yanyu, go sprinkle a bag in the ladies' bathhouse."
After purchasing another bag of air purifier, he handed it to Situ Yanyu. With this item, the attraction rate for customers would significantly increase.
As expected, within minutes, a large number of customers poured in.
They were attracted by the scent of the air purifier, finding that the closer they were to the bathhouse, the clearer their thoughts became, solving many confusing issues with ease.
"What kind of place is this, so miraculous!"
"Hehehe, welcome to Tangneng First-class, come on in..."
...
Meanwhile, in the various major families of Ancient Moon City.
In the Wang Family, after Wang Ning, the young master of the Wang Family, left Tangneng First-class, he immediately rushed to his family's location without stopping.
The water of the bathhouse was too magical. If they could unravel its formula, how could the Wang Family not prosper?
He promptly sought out Wang Ba, the Wang Family Patriarch.
"Father, your son has discovered a treasure trove..."
Wang Ning took out the water and explained the situation with Tangneng First-class and the bathhouse in great detail to his father. Seeing the glint in Wang Ba's eyes, it was clear that something had piqued his interest.
Just a soak in the bath could enhance one's cultivation level—If his Wang family could have such a place, why worry about the family's prosperity?
"Who else knows about this now?"
"The bathhouse is right next to the Moon Watching Tower; the major families should all be aware by now."
"Let me have a look at that water!"
Wang Ba took the water and inspected it carefully, but after a long time, he couldn't discern anything special.
He tasted it—bitter, fishy, sour, and putrid.
This damn thing is foot-washing water!
"You beast, you dare make me drink your foot-washing water? Die!"
...
The same scenario was enacted in all the major families of Ancient Moon City.
Disciples from each family presented the water they procured from the bathhouse to their senior members.
Hearing about the miraculous effects of the Tangneng First-class bathhouse, the seniors were exhilarated and began investigating the water's secrets with their divine skills.
However, the reality was that they found nothing; no matter how they analyzed it, it was just ordinary water.
"Wait a minute, sense the water carefully. Is there a trace of a special scent in it?"
"Correct, this scent is a bit pungent, probably the smell of some herb."
Quite a few of the seniors tasted the water intently.
They frowned slightly; at first, the taste was mediocre, but upon closer examination, there was a hint of bitter sweat and an indescribable odor of decay.
There's something about this water!
Based on the smell and taste, this should be... foot-washing water?
"Damn it, are you messing with me on purpose, happy to have me drink your foot-water?"
"This water is useless; it even has the stench of feet!"
"Damn, what sins did I commit in my last life to bear such a misfortune,"
"Ten years of cultivation, and you've gone to the dogs, treating foot-water as a sacred elixir for cultivation. What were you thinking?"
"From now on, don't say I am your master. Get out!"
"..."
In Ancient Moon City, all the major families were in uproar, with Family Heads and Elders sporting faces as liver-colored as if they had eaten flies.
They had tasted their disciples' foot-washing water and analyzed it in earnest. Should this get out, they'd be unable to show their faces in the city.
Utterly embarrassing!
The disciples were also bewildered; why did the water work fine in the bathhouse but lose its power once outside?
Could it be that what the proprietor said was true, that the bathwater was indeed just ordinary water, and what truly merited attention was not the water, but something else?
No, they had to visit Tangneng First-class once more to clear up the trickery behind it!
Many family disciples, as if by unspoken agreement, headed en masse toward Tangneng First-class's location.
Nonetheless, they were soon astonished to find that the bathhouse was now surrounded by an impenetrable crowd.
"Don't push, don't push, I was here first!"
"No cutting in line, brother, I'm still waiting to get into the bathhouse!"
"Brother, you misunderstand, I don't have Spirit Stones, I'm not going in, I'll just hang around outside!"
"Same here, let's just hang around; I'm not competing with you guys."