The Way of Spiritual Journey

Chapter 29, Huaiyu Presents a Poem

"Here you go, all of it." Shi Butong grabbed the two thousand taels of silver notes from Ma Zi's hand and slapped them into Li Lang's hand.

Li Lang cupped his hand, grabbed the silver note, and smiled without saying a word, quietly watching the other person.

"No, brother, half of it is mine." Ma Zi looked at the silver note in Li Lang's hand, then at Shi Butong's excited expression, his face full of grievance.

"Ma Zi, I told you long ago, don't take material possessions too seriously, it's not good." Shi Butong replied to Ma Zi, but didn't even glance at him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three silver notes, the seven hundred taels he had just won for grabbing a seat, and handed them to Li Lang. "This is all my worldly possessions."

Li Lang took it, but remained silent.

"This...isn't it ready yet?" Shi Butong stared at Li Lang's calm, unwavering eyes, cursing inwardly, "This guy's a swindler! Is he trying to force me to use force?"

Shi Butong was indeed a bachelor. Upon seeing this, he no longer hesitated. He gritted his teeth and reached out to pull on his belt.

"What, what are you going to do?" Li Lang was taken aback, seemingly puzzled.

"Since you haven't arrived yet, young master, I'll have to take off my underwear for you." Shi Butong said without changing his expression, and his movements were not slow at all.

"Get lost. Who wants your underwear?" Li Lang laughed in anger.

"Hehe, that's good. I told you, young master isn't that kind of person." Shi Butong chuckled, his shamelessness a masterful display.

"Trying to cheat, huh? I told you long ago, if you don't have money, what are you pretending to be? You should sell this poem to that fat guy; after all, he can afford to pay in gold." Li Lang glanced at Shi Butong with disdain and said irritably.

"No, brother, please grant my request. Consider this a huge favor I owe you. In the future, if you ever need anything, just let me know. I'll be there for you through thick and thin, no questions asked. How about that?" Shi Butong finally got to the point. His expression was serious, his tone was very sincere, and his eyes were full of expectation as he looked at Li Lang.

Looking into Shi Butong's eyes, Li Lang saw no pretense whatsoever, indicating that Shi Butong was truly a man of character and worth investing in.

Li Lang wanted to make money, but he also wanted to invest. All of this was for the purpose of spending money, accumulating good karma, and nourishing the spendthrift idea in his mind, to see if it could bring him the surprise he desired.

Spending money is easy and feels great, but making money is hard, and making money consistently is even harder, which requires investment.

When it comes to investing, it's a skill. As the saying goes, invest in projects in the short term, and build connections in the long term.

What Li Lang wanted was a long-term, high-quality network of connections that would allow him to make money easily and continuously.

Li Lang was secretly delighted, but he didn't show it at all, even forcing out a hint of hesitation.

"Alas, it's not that I'm unwilling to help others, but you've put me in a difficult position. You know, this wonderful thing of moon-gazing becoming a spirit is a once-in-a-century event. It's one thing to not cherish such an opportunity when it's right in front of you, but to sell it off so cheaply is another. If the whole world knew about this, they'd probably stomp me to pieces and feed me to the dogs to vent their personal anger. Just thinking about it is extremely terrifying!" Li Lang frowned deeply and slowly shook his head, revealing the extremely complex struggle in his heart.

"Brother, you're not selling him off cheaply. This is a noble act, a virtuous act, a legendary tale, a name that will be remembered in history, it is..." Shi Butong heard a hint of wavering in Li Lang's words, and immediately disregarded everything else, grabbing the latter's hand and struggling to organize the most complex words of his life.

"Alright." Li Lang quickly shook off Shi Butong's hand, secretly chuckling to himself, but his face was full of disdain. "You've convinced me. Grind the ink."

"Alright!" Shi Butong was overjoyed to see Li Lang finally agree and wiggled his hips to grind the ink himself.

"After one incense stick has burned out, please invite Young Master Huaiyu to offer his words." A moment later, Rou'er's crisp voice rang out again, calling out Zhu Huaiyu's name first.

This is the biggest advantage of seating arrangements. Nobody's money is given away for free. The person with the largest amount has the advantage of starting first. Nobody can find fault with this principle.

When Zhu Huaiyu was called out, he was delighted. He straightened his clothes, stood up, and looked around. He handled his demeanor quite well.

"Ah! Yueyue!" Young Master Huaiyu came prepared. Without any prelude, his passion surged instantly, and he burst out with a thunderous roar.

"puff!"

"puff!"

......

Li Lang had just swallowed a mouthful of hot tea when it was forcefully spurted out.

For a moment, the sound of tea being sprayed incessantly filled the hall.

"You are my heart and soul, you are my darling, la la la..." Young Master Huaiyu is indeed a genius, the kind of genius that's off the charts, he even came up with "la la la".

Li Lang was still too inexperienced; he choked on the tea, which went down his trachea, followed by a violent cough.

Li Lang's reaction was strong, but the hall was completely silent; clearly, everyone was savoring the moment.

"Hahahaha..." A moment later, thunderous laughter erupted in the hall.

"Pregnant man, you're so talented."

"Brother Zhu, I admire you more than any pig."

"Go, pregnant guy! You can do it!"

The group of playboys clapped and whistled enthusiastically, making the scene difficult to control for a moment.

"What a rare talent! This guy must be rich; with this kind of acting ability, he'd make a fortune just from selling tickets!" Li Lang suppressed a cough, his heart filled with emotion.

"You, you don't know anything! I'm praising you, I admire you. Miss Mingyue will understand my feelings, right, Miss Rourou?" Zhu Huaiyu's embarrassment flashed across his fat face, and he raised his head and strongly retorted. Then, he asked Rou'er gently with a smile.

The graceful Rou'er, dressed in a white dress, stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the front, trying to distract herself.

The girls at Qifeng Tower have undergone training, and their manners and behavior are strictly regulated, so they rarely lose their composure.

Suddenly, Rou'er covered her mouth with her hand, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

It's clear that he was under immense pressure, and he couldn't bring himself to laugh even when he was trying his best.

"Yes, you're right. Next." Rou'er had already lost her composure, her voice trembling as if she wanted to laugh but couldn't.

Next, without being called out by name, Shi Butong, with his masterpiece in hand, naturally took the lead.

"When will the moon be full?" Shi Butong immediately stood up and asked in a loud voice.

The hall was completely silent; no one could answer the question.

Shi Butong looked around and nodded in satisfaction; this was the effect he wanted. Then, he slowly picked up a glass of wine from the table, raised it high above his head, and said, "I raise my cup to ask the heavens."

"OK!"

"Wonderful!"

It must be said that there were indeed knowledgeable people in the hall. Shi Butong's two lines of poetry immediately drew cheers.