Star Gate

Chapter 634: A Meal (II)

The manager carefully took a few more glances at Li Hao; the more she looked at him, the more the young man resembled Demon Sword. The Nine Dragons Pavilion had naturally circulated portraits of the young man. The one in front of her both appeared similar to the portraits and didn’t at the same time.

She personally poured a cup of tea when she saw Li Hao sit, waving the attendants off. “Honored guest, these are tea leaves that have been steeped with Water of Life...”

Li Hao took a sip from the cup and regarded it with some disdain. “How miserly! This has been diluted one thousand times, hasn’t it?”

“......” There was no response. The manager knew that, despite appearances, the one in front of her had likely drank Water of Life before. Just as he said, this drop was diluted more than one thousand times.

She was quiet for a while before saying softly, “It’s not that we don’t have complete droplets, it’s just that they’re... rather expensive.”

“You sell Water of Life?”

“No.” The manager inclined her head. “But if an honored guest needs it, we can temporarily supply some.”

“How much do you sell them for?”

“One hundred thousand pieces of stone.”

“You’re joking,” Li Hao chuckled. “Then this cup of tea is one hundred pieces per cup!”

“This comes with the private room, it’s free.”

“Does the room cost money?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“The minimum charge for a private room on the ninth floor is five hundred pieces.”

Li Hao broke out in full-out laughter. Was that expensive? Very expensive! But if it came down to it, if one had one hundred thousand pieces of mysterious power stones and didn’t have a way to exchange for Water of Life, would they be willing to conduct this exchange?

They would!

The little tree had charged him ten thousand pieces per droplet—that included a massive processing fee. But here, the price was ten times that!

The young man said nothing more and looked at the screen. Two supernaturals were conducting a fight to the death in an arena elsewhere. Both of them were Sunflare, making for an exciting contest between two evenly matched opponents.

Li Hao swept a glance at the screen, then looked at the fighting ring in the center of the room. “What’s this ring for?”

“If the honored guest so wishes, you can host fights here. Or if the honored guest has scores to settle with other guests, you can also utilize the premises,” explained the manager. “This is a very private location and it was built by premier supernatural powerhouses. Specialized supernaturals have reinforced the area around the ring so that mysterious power won’t leak out.”

“No wonder it’s so expensive!” Li Hao nodded and looked at the crystalline cutlery on the dining table. “All of that is forged out of the best mysterious power stones. Aren’t you worried about people taking it with them?”

“They won’t. Those who patronize the establishment are all honored guests!” laughed the manager. In other words, they wouldn’t do something so demeaning.

“This seems to be made out of energy stones.” Li Hao randomly picked up a bowl. “If I throw this at someone, I’ll break their heads even if they’re a Solar! And this is only tableware for eating. The royal family and nine ministries are rich, alright!”

“Why else do you think that people fight over power?” Hou Xiaochen laughed. “Such are the privileges enjoyed by the upper echelon of society. See, aren’t you sitting here now too and enjoying all this? You watch supernaturals put on a show for you and eat a meal that costs hundreds or one thousand mysterious power stones...”

“I’m just broadening my knowledge of the world!” Li Hao grinned. “I can’t afford this myself.”

“Can you really not?”

“I can, actually,” Li Hao laughed. “I reaped a lot from raiding the Xu treasury—around one million mysterious power stones. But here, we spend several thousand pieces for a meal. Eating three meals a day means ten thousand stones per day. I’ll be bankrupt after three months!”

Next to them, the manager shook. She was now certain who this young man was.

“I thought I was rich and as wealthy as a nation after that gig!” Li Hao sighed. “If I didn’t visit Skystar City, I wouldn’t know that there are such expensive places in the world. Wouldn’t that make Xu Qing a bumpkin as well if he was here?”

“Not quite!” Hou Xiaochen laughed heartily. “The Xu family vaults were only part of the family fortune. Who would place all of their wealth in that tiny treasury? Do you think that his old man appeared out of thin air?”

“I know, he was hiding in the ruins. That’s right, it’s safer there!” Li Hao was suddenly mystified. “Did they seize an armory in the ruins?”

“That would be normal and expected,” Hou Xiaochen explained. “Take Battle Heaven, for instance. Does it have an armory?”

“Yes!” Li Hao nodded. “But it’s not easy to claim it! There are one million soldiers and a dozen Golden Armors in the ancient city. There’s even more important personnel on top of that. Well... I suppose that makes it really rich too!”

The manager and attendants’ scalps crawled at their conversation. It wasn’t that their honored guests wouldn’t discuss important matters in front of them, but that they wouldn’t do so so clearly and blatantly. They did so without a care in the world and were incredibly direct, without the reticence displayed by others.

The more the attendants listened, the more shocked they were. It wasn’t that they’d never bore witness to major occasions. In fact, the manager thought that she might be the most experienced out of everyone present when it came to important events. Hou Xiaochen didn’t count for much in the grand scheme of things. Each of the ministers and their deputies were more highly ranked than him. She also often saw princes and dukes. All of them were ranked more highly.

But as she listened to Li Hao and Hou Xiaochen converse, she suddenly had the urge to turn and run away. She didn’t really want to keep listening.

“So long as you understand!” Hou Xiaochen smiled. “Therefore, you’re richer than me, but you’d be dreaming if you think that you’re richer than the nine ministries or ministers after looting the Xus!

“The Xus are indeed one of the three great dukes, but you didn’t loot their core treasury. Secondly, the Xus are the lords of the east, but they aren’t the overlords of the land. Even the east must pay taxes to the nine ministries. The Xus can fully control only ten provinces at most, whereas the nine ministries hold sway over all of them.

“The ten that the Xus command must also answer to the nine ministries!”

Li Hao nodded, further understanding the position that the nine ministries were in. “Of the nine ministries, I understand if the Ministry of Armed Forces, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Administration, Ministry of Examinations, and Ministry of Commerce have money. But where do the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Relations earn their income from?” Li Hao asked quizzically. “I don’t even know what the Ministry of Internal Affairs actually does.”

“How are you a peacemaker commissioner?” Hou Xiaochen laughed. “You’re an embarrassment to us all! Isn’t the Nine Pavilions Pagoda part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs? This ministry pertains to the business that the royal family conducts with the outside world. In the nine ministries, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a spokesperson for the royal family.”

“I see!” Li Hao realized.

The manager wished nothing more than to stopper her ears. She wanted to offer up the menu and leave, but she didn’t dare interrupt the two in their conversion.

“What about the Ministry of Foreign Relations?” Li Hao continued to ask.

“That ministry used to face the nations that bordered the dynasty, such as Great Li that neighbors us. But these days, those nations have either vanished or are separated by perilous terrain,” Hou Xiaochen once more educated Li Hao. “Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Relations primarily focuses not on the outside of the dynasty these days, but the monster spirits, three great organizations, and seven divine mountains. If they have envoys that come, it’s that ministry that receives them.

“Then how do they earn money?” Li Hao was still curious.

“That’s easy,” Hou Xiaochen laughed. “The monster spirits produce special items and treasures according to their territory, but they also need certain items from the human race. What should they do? Declare war for resources? The monster spirits are no idiots at their current stage of development. Therefore, they take up these matters with the human race through the Ministry of Foreign Relations. The ministry can also buy low and sell high! Don’t underestimate this point. The profits involved are far more than you can imagine!”

“If the three great organizations wish to transact with the dynasty, does that also fall to the Ministry of Foreign Relations?” Li Hao interjected.

“Yes!”

“But isn’t that supplying the enemy?”

“The three great organizations of your perspective are villains who stoop to every possible low!” Hou Xiaochen looked at him. “However, to the nine ministries, the three great organizations have many powerful spokespeople. Are you willing to cut off communications with them before you decide to fully exterminate them? Li Hao, you must understand that the enemy of your eyes may not be the enemy of the senior executives’ eyes.

“To some, such as the nine ministries, their struggles with each other may not be any less than their hostilities with the three great organizations. An institution such as the Inspectorate hates the three great organizations, but that doesn’t mean all of them are such, do you understand?

“The Night Watchers and three great organizations fight each other, they have conflicts and they have feuds. But do you think institutions such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Relations have any grudge with the three great organizations that cannot be resolved?”

Li Hao continued to nod. He was learning a great deal today. He’d come to Skystar City to witness this. Hou Xiaochen might know of his thoughts, so he was explaining and analyzing all of this in great detail.

“Therefore...” Li Hao paused in thought. “When you kill those of the three great organizations, that’s sometimes obstructing another’s path of wealth, is it?”

“You can say that, but that’s not the only thing obstructed. Don’t just look at money from day to night, there’s a lot of other things out there,” Hou Xiaochen laughed. “Take the Nine Dragons Pavilion, for example. Do you think this is just a restaurant?”

Li Hao didn’t make a sound.

“This is an important venue of communication between the nine ministries and the royal family,” Hou Xiaochen said. “If the officials cannot resolve it themselves, then the issues are resolved here and profit and loss normalized.” He pointed at the manager next to them. “Do you view her as an attendant?”

“No... she’s so beautiful.” Li Hao smiled radiantly.

“Let’s put it this way,” Hou Xiaochen said with a smile. “This one is not only one of the leaders of the royal family’s intelligence agency, but an important bridge between the nine ministries and the royal family.”

“You jest, Director Hou.” The manager’s expression changed slightly.

“I’m not talking to you, don’t interrupt!” Hou Xiaochen responded calmly, but the manager’s heart spasmed and she didn’t make a further sound.