Chapter 313 – Florida Man Accepts Celebrity's Dinner Invitation, Promises to Leave the Alligators at Home (Maybe)
A day later…
In the early morning, Leo, Cat, Hua Jiashan, Tang Xuan, and the local elders visited the slum district.
Although this place was nicknamed as a slum, the buildings and the streets were clean and new. No beggars, hoodlums, or thieves roamed this place. Instead, wealthy merchants and cultivators could be seen everywhere.
Most of the buildings near the main roads ran a business. Street markets, stalls, brothels, pill pavilions, and miscellaneous service centers offered a variety of merchandise and services. 70% of the local goods were second-hand items that his customers had bought from his store. Still, the rest were items that the merchants procured from elsewhere.
Leo looked around and was amazed by the sheer volume of the second-hand goods. There were even knock-off stores that sold similar food as his FFC shop, but they used regular chickens.
"Wow. They're quite developed." Leo couldn't help but praise them.
Hua Jiashan bitterly smiled as he recognized some of the faces in the slum. The townsmen who lived near his former sect all migrated here, and they settled down here.
"If we count the population of Magpie City, there should be more than 20,000 people here." Hua Jiashan estimated.
Tang Xuan disagreed. As his clan managed this area, he knew the exact number. "120,000 people, actually. 30,000 are commoners. The rest are cultivators."
"That many?!" Leo was stunned.
Tang Xuan bitterly laughed. "You never visited us, so you weren't aware of the recent influx of immigrants. Also, there have been rumors about the changing climate recently. People from the north testified that the winter this year comes early."
Leo deeply frowned, "Wasn't the previous winter 4-5 months ago?"
"Yes. That's why people are panicking. They seek a warmer place because they thought that Yin monsters are emerging."
"How odd. I don't sense any strong monsters in the north though. I even flew to space several times during the past months, and I don't see any unusual creature."
"That's why we're treating this matter as unfounded rumors, but we have already dispatched an investigation team to investigate the climate last week. We hope to get an answer soon."
Leo nodded. He looked ahead while they were strolling on the main road.
"Let's change the topic. Since we chatted about the new branch yesterday, we need a suitable location for the local people."
"Yes. Let's secure the land in the middle of the town. I think the Shang Merchant Group owns it. We should be able to purchase his land and get the ideal location."
Leo flinched. He looked at Tang Xuan.
"I'm the freaking owner of this domain. Why the hell do I have to buy land from someone else?!"
Tang Xuan broke a sweat. He forgot about it.
"Please excuse my blunder. For a moment there, my old habit resurfaces. I thought I was still working for the Yan Emperor."
"…"
Leo waved his hand and disregarded the mistake. He deeply sighed.
"Welp. Since they claim my land as their own, I might as well avoid unnecessary conflicts."
"But I'm sure those commoners will return your land if you ask though."
"Meh. Then, I would have to clear the old buildings and redesign the paved stone roads here. They worked so hard to terraform a forest into a city. I should respect that."
Leo complained as he was too lazy to deal with the local people. However, to the local residents, his decision was an act of kindness. Some of the eavesdropping townsmen shed a tear of gratitude.
Tang Xuan also secretly cleaned his eyes with his clothes. He brightly smiled.
"As you wish, we will not touch the local people's properties and their hard work. But where should we establish the branch office, my lord?"
Leo deeply sighed and levitated to the sky.
Seeing that Leo took flight, all the elders followed him. They also looked around to see if there were any unclaimed land.
Unfortunately, all usable lands were occupied. Even the Magpie City's walls were torn down so that the slum could merge with the former city.
Tang Xuan checked the southern area, but he quickly abandoned the thoughts. Half of Leo's domain territory was his farmland, where his automatons cultivated unique vegetables and fruits. As they were the only source of alchemy ingredients and food, they were irreplaceable. Thus, replacing some of the farmland for a new office wasn't ideal.
Hua Jiashan flew further west to see the extent of the slum district, and he was surprised. Beyond the Magpie City to the west, Hua Jiashan saw a thousand groups of carpenters and merchants building roads and wooden structures to expand the city. He rushed back to report Leo.
"My lord. The western area of Magpie City should be suitable. The commoners are building a new town there. If we erect a new branch over there, we can accelerate their growth. Moreover, the citizens won't be congested near the main store where our immortals and deities reside. With this move, we can segregate the mortal zone from the immortal zone." Hua Jiashan suggested.
Tang Xuan agreed. "Indeed. If we look closer to the main roads, we can see dense traffic of carriages and wagons near the main store. But to the west area, the roads are almost empty. If we establish a branch there, the traffic will shift toward the new branch and relieve the traffic over here."
Leo was curious. He followed Hua Jiashan to the western outskirts of Magpie City. The group also tagged along with him.
Upon arrival, Leo saw what Hua Jiashan had seen, but he inspected further west. Beyond the land that Hua Jiashan had scouted was a tall mountain range. West of the mountains, the west coast of the continent and the sea blocked the town's expansion.
"Ah, a weird combination of mountains and sea," Leo smirked. He rubbed his chin and visited the mountain.
The mountain range emitted no Qi. Upon landing, Leo immediately spat on it and hoped to see some changes.
Unfortunately, nothing happened.
Leo tilted his head as he figured that the spit might not be enough. He shamelessly unzipped his pants and started spraying holy water.
"…"
Tang Xuan and the other followers froze. Their expressions darkened. On the other hand, Cat widened her eyes and complained.
"PAPA! WHAT A WASTE OF NOM-NOM MEOW! YOU SHOULD HAVE GIVEN THAT PRECIOUS NOM-NOM FERTILIZER TO ME, MEOW!"
"…"
Again, except for an individual, Cat's complaints stunned the crowd. Her words reminded them that she was originally a dryad, not a regular cultivator.
Wu Buyi was the only one laughing at Cat's remark. He teased her.
"Indeed, an adult's piss contains a lot of nutrition for a plant girl like you. If you suddenly open a toilet service and allow men to piss on you, I bet you will be so rich! BAHAHAHAHA!!"
"…"
The crowd glared at Wu Buyi for making such a sick joke. The girls were disgusted, but a certain follower of Esen secretly giggled.
The woman mustered her courage and embraced the shame. She approached Wu Buyi and chatted with him for the first time while Ivy and Marc dropped their jaws.
Beatrice floated next to Wu Buyi and gave him a faint smile.
"Sir Alchemist, your logic sounds interesting. I've been a death knight for over a thousand years, but I never encountered someone as shameless as you."
Wu Buyi puffed his chest, "Thanks for the compliment, lady!"
"Say, I would like to learn more about your unique wisdom. Would you like to join me for dinner so we can discuss daos?"
At that moment, all men especially Marc almost screamed from shock and disbelief.
Beatrice invited Wu Buyi for dinner?!
Was Hell frozen?! – The men thought.
Did it snow in summer?! – The women thought.
Was Thailand free of ladyboys?! – Wu Buyi thought.
Did Florida ban guns?! – Leo thought.
Although speechless, Wu Buyi regained his composure and changed his voice.
"I would love to, but I'm a busy man. I need to refine my alchemy skills by studying in the workshop. I'm afraid I don't have time for the conversation."
"What a shame." Beatrice sighed, "I reserved the hotel's buffet restaurant. I guess I might have to invite someone else-"
"Not necessary. I'll go. Hotel's buffet, right?" Wu Buyi changed his mind.
The hotel that they referred to was the hotel where Leo and Esen got officially married. The building was still at the same place and was operated by Dongfang Mei and Xu Nuan.
The hotel rooms were mostly vacant due to the high fees. However, several cultivators from the slum sometimes spent their hard-earned essence stones or lifespan to book a room, treating this place as a haven for cultivation and relaxation.
Wu Buyi also loved the hotel's facilities and their food. Although the sources of food came from the same places, the hotel offered a buffet service, which Wu Buyi enjoyed the most.
"Well, FFC was good for breakfast, but the hotel's buffet service is too good to ignore. If you insist, I would like to accept your invitation, my lady!"
Beatrice giggled, "Sure. Let's continue our chat tonight, okay?"
"Of course!"
Everyone stared at the two as if they were looking at emerging Godzilla giving birth to a dinosaur. Nobody could describe a word of their feeling.
Marc turned around and hugged Ivy. He sniffed and cried as he couldn't bear seeing his biological sister going after another man.
Ivy grinned and hugged Marc back. She then excused herself and brought the heartbroken boy to the hotel. While she was about to leave, she winked at Beatrice, who also secretly gave her a thumbs up.
No one among the crowd could foresee what Ivy would do to Marc, but they would learn about their new relationship in the future.
"AHEM!"
Leo had enough of the soap opera drama. He coughed and regained everybody's attention.
"I'm going to build the branch near the mountain. Also, I'll be building extra houses and other structures nearby. Be prepared for the changes!"
