After dancing six dances, Li Banfeng had changed six dance partners.
Zhou Yujuan, the owner of Xianle Dance Hall, draped in a deep purple cheongsam and holding a round fan, stood on the second-floor corridor. She fanned herself with her left hand, her right resting on the corridor railing. Looking down at the dance floor of the main hall, she stared at Li Banfeng for a moment. Then, her eyebrows knitted together slightly.
Zhou Yujuan called over a woman and whispered, "Tell that man it’s eighty per dance, and he needs to settle the bill first."
The woman quickly returned with a thousand in cash. "Sister," she reported, "that guest said he is enjoying the dance here and wants to continue."
Zhou Yujuan’s frown deepened.
Zhou Yujuan instructed again, "Have Old Gu change the tune to ’When Will You Return’!"
Old Gu was the operator of the hand-cranked phonograph. Upon his owner’s command, Old Gu understood and immediately switched the record.
"Good flowers do not bloom all the time, good times do not last, worry piles up on laughing eyebrows, tearful eyes carry yearning~~"
"When Will You Return" was a song Xianle Dance Hall played every night. It was quite special, akin to a closing tune. Once it began, guests needed to hurry and pick their dance partners, because the dance hall would close when the song ended.
All the gentlemen present had already chosen their partners. Li Banfeng’s current partner held his hands tightly, placing a hand over her heart as she earnestly asked, "Sir, shall we go upstairs?"
With a serious face, Li Banfeng said, "What’s the point of going upstairs? Isn’t it nice to dance here?"
The girl looked at Li Banfeng urgently. "Sir, the hall will close after this dance."
"Why should it close? I’ve just paid!" Li Banfeng said, displeased.
The dancing girl whispered, "If you take me upstairs, you don’t have to pay extra."
"Who says he doesn’t have to pay!" Zhou Yujuan slowly walked down the stairs, her hearing so acute she had caught the girl’s quiet words.
Li Banfeng thought.
The music abruptly stopped. Zhou Yujuan approached Li Banfeng with a smile. "Sir, we are closing now. You can come back tomorrow."
Li Banfeng asked, "I just paid a thousand in cash, and you’re closing? Is that reasonable?"
Zhou Yujuan feigned surprise. "Sir, you’ve been dancing with our girls. Shouldn’t you pay?"
Li Banfeng looked at Zhou Yujuan. "The money I gave was for dancing, eighty per dance. I’ve danced seven dances, spending only half of that thousand, and now you want to kick me out?"
The surrounding customers gradually moved away from the center of the dance floor. They knew that at Xianle Dance Hall, one didn’t usually pay for dancing itself; what they paid for were tips for the girls and drinks. They also knew that if the owner came to charge for dancing, it meant someone was looking for trouble.
Zhou Yujuan’s lips curved. She looked at Li Banfeng. "Sir, eighty is for dancing, but for each song, I must also charge you an extra hundred for ’tip money’."
"What ’tip money’?"
"The ’liberties’ you’re taking are right there in your hand."
Li Banfeng’s hand was gripping the girl’s chest.
But now, this girl showed none of her previous generosity or warmth. Her face filled with shame and annoyance as she pulled Li Banfeng’s hand away and snapped, "Sir, what are you doing?"
She acted as if Li Banfeng had insulted her.
Li Banfeng did not argue, simply nodding and saying, "This hundred for ’tip money’, I’ll pay."
Zhou Yujuan’s eyebrow lifted. She shook her head with a chuckle. "Just one hundred won’t do. Seven girls have danced with you, seven dances. Which one didn’t you take liberties with? A hundred per girl. Add this seven hundred, and your thousand is still not enough."
Li Banfeng was greatly surprised. "Seven girls? I took liberties with all of them?"
Zhou Yujuan nodded earnestly. "They are young ladies. By letting you even touch their hands, they’ve already suffered a loss."
Li Banfeng felt this was unreasonable. "Is there dancing without touching hands? Do all the guests here pay for that?"
Zhou Yujuan’s eyes twinkled as she looked at Li Banfeng with pity. "Other guests don’t need to pay because the girls are willing. If a girl is willing, you can touch wherever you like. But not you. The girls find you disgusting! And if a girl is unwilling, you must pay even if you only touch her fingernails!"
Li Banfeng was about to continue reasoning with Zhou Yujuan when he suddenly sensed danger approaching. He looked up, gazing towards the second-floor corridor.
Behind the railing stood a middle-aged man. The man was around one meter sixty tall, bald, with a full beard, wearing a gray, traditionally-collared cloth jacket. He was endlessly rolling a pair of walnuts in his hand. At this moment, he was staring at Li Banfeng.
Many guests present recognized this man. Some quickly took their dancing girls and left for the night, while others left money for drinks and departed.
Although Li Banfeng had never met him, he recognized who he was. Because in Li Banfeng’s eyes, it wasn’t just this one man standing on the second-floor corridor; there were more than a dozen people behind him.
These fifteen people, men and women dressed differently, shared one thing in common: green flames emanated from their bodies. These were the Ghost Servants of a Nightmare Cultivator, and the lean man was Du Hongxi, the Xunfeng of Jiang Xiang Gang’s Medicine King Hall, Second Helmsman.
Now that Du Hongxi had arrived and the other guests had left, Zhou Yujuan’s smile was no longer so warm. "It’s just a few petty coins, I don’t want to quibble over them with you. Sir, just leave another thousand and you can go."
"Another thousand?"
Zhou Yujuan nodded. "Do you think I’m asking for too much?"
"Why an extra thousand? What’s the rationale behind this?" Li Banfeng wanted to hear what sort of reasoning the owner could possibly concoct.
Zhou Yujuan laughed. "You want to talk reason with me? Are you worthy? Why don’t you go take a piss and look at your own reflection? See what you really amount to? While I’m still in a decent mood, cough up the money and scram. Next time, keep your eyes open and don’t just barge into places you don’t belong."
Li Banfeng glanced again at Du Hongxi. Behind him, two Ghost Servants had passed through the railing and were descending slowly from the second floor.
Li Banfeng raised his eyebrows, opened his wallet, took out a thousand in cash, and handed it to Zhou Yujuan.
Zhou Yujuan received the banknotes and said with feigned sweetness, "Now, get lost!"
Li Banfeng turned to leave. Du Hongxi ordered the Ghost Servants to follow him.
Li Banfeng hastened out of the hall. Two Ghost Servants went straight through the wall into the corridor but did not see Li Banfeng’s figure, only the open door at the end of the hallway.
After searching for a while without finding Li Banfeng, the two Ghost Servants sniffed around and discovered no scent of living beings nearby.
The two Ghost Servants returned to Du Hongxi’s side, and Zhou Yujuan also went back to the second-floor corridor.
Du Hongxi wrapped his arm around Zhou Yujuan’s waist and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Next time you run into such riffraff, don’t bother talking to him. Just tell me, and I’ll take care of him straight away."
Zhou Yujuan cooed, "Master, for such a small matter, how could I trouble you?"
Du Hongxi chuckled. "Sweetheart, for you, I’m willing to work myself to death."
Zhou Yujuan pouted. "Master, you said it yourself. Tonight, you’re not allowed to complain about being tired."
The two entered a bedroom on the third floor. The fifteen Ghost Servants split into three groups, guarding every corner of the third floor. With these Ghost Servants on guard, even if a Third Layer Martial Cultivator were to charge up, they couldn’t harm Du Hongxi in the slightest.
Without Du Hongxi having to actively control them, they would always protect his safety. When needed in battle, they fought fearlessly; when not engaged, they showed no trace of laxity. They feared no coercion, were indifferent to temptation, and unless utterly destroyed, they would never abandon their post.
But tonight was an exception.
At three o’clock in the morning, a song suddenly drifted from the phonograph in the main hall downstairs:
"I have a love story, ah,
To whom shall I tell?
My confidant has departed,
Since he left, ah, no news~"
The Ghost Servants all peeked out, looking down towards the first floor.
Two Ghost Servants couldn’t resist. They passed through the railing, left the third floor, and flew down to the phonograph. After struggling for a moment, the other Ghost Servants followed suit. They all gathered around the phonograph, quietly listening to the song.
Li Banfeng slowly cranked the phonograph, counting the number of Ghost Servants.
PS: Actually, I think the feel of a hand-cranked phonograph is quite delightful.