Chapter 273: Acting Contrary to Expectation

Gu Fan halted his steps. Two seasoned Celestial Heart Realm experts were actually working as guards in the Cauldron Pavilion for Cultivators!

This Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion was indeed wealthy and extravagant, or rather, with the backing of Xuan Feather Immortal Sect, it was truly domineering!

The two of them looked at Gu Fan. Seeing how young he was yet striking ruthlessly, and only at the mid-stage of the Solar Radiance Realm, contempt immediately rose in their hearts.

During this period, the Eastern Region Assembly was being held in the city. A cultivator at the mid-stage of the Solar Radiance Realm at his age was merely at the bottom among the sects.

A casual grab could fetch a handful of such types. The two subconsciously believed that Gu Fan must be some nouveau riche from a minor sect, throwing his weight around after stumbling into this place.

They immediately prepared to seize Gu Fan, intending to teach him a lesson before notifying their sect elders to come pay compensation and take him away. That way, they could also extort a bit for themselves.

With that thought, the two exchanged glances, both tacitly understanding.

“Kid, which sect are you from? How dare you cause trouble in the Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion? Do you even know who’s backing the Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion?”

“We won’t wrong you without reason. As long as you seal your Mysterious Power and cooperate with our investigation, this matter won’t be blown out of proportion!”

Gu Fan let out a few cold laughs, sneering at the two of them:

“Investigation? Then let’s investigate right here!”

As he spoke, he pointed to the steward he had just slapped.

“Everyone here saw it. I came in to reserve a private room. Your staff told me to choose one.”

“I chose Room Six of the Earth Grade. He said it was taken. I switched to Room Eight of the Earth Grade. He said it was also taken.”

“Finally, I picked Room Three of the Earth Grade. This time he said it was available, so I was about to head over. But then your staff refused again, claiming it had been reserved!”

“I’d like to ask, is this how your Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion treats guests? Did I not offer money, or is it because my cultivation level is low? Or is it that your Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion looks down on people with low cultivation?”

Gu Fan’s barrage of words instantly made the two guards’ expressions change. They hadn’t expected Gu Fan to be so sharp-tongued—within a few lines, he had turned the situation into a class conflict.

One must know, most patrons of the Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion were those below the Celestial Heart Realm, including many second-generation cultivators in the Divine Moon Realm.

They had plenty of money but poor talent, making cultivation difficult. So they spent their days here enjoying pleasure.

High-realm cultivators might visit a few times out of novelty, but they rarely came back. After all, with their power, what kind of woman couldn’t they find?

Yet now, with just a few words, Gu Fan had made the Cauldron Pavilion offend its main customer base!

“Yeah, this is a bit much.”

“Exactly. They told him to choose, and when he did—twice—they said it was taken. Then he chose a room that was supposedly free, and they still wouldn’t let him book it. I’d be angry too. What cultivator doesn’t have a bit of temper?”

“Though I heard Room Three of the Earth Grade has indeed been reserved for a long time…”

“It’s his first time here, how would he know it was pre-booked? Seems to me the Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion is getting too arrogant with its business. Isn’t this just toying with him?”

“Hmph, our cultivation may be low, but that doesn’t mean our families have no one! If the Cauldron Pavilion continues doing business like this, we might as well stop coming!”

Immediately, the surrounding discussions piled immense pressure on the two guards.

If not handled properly, this might damage the pavilion’s reputation—especially now, with all the major sects gathering here for the Eastern Region Assembly. They could lose a significant portion of customers!

With this realization, the two looked at Gu Fan with even more resentment.

It was all this brat’s fault for making things so troublesome!

But now, the two had given up on capturing Gu Fan for a bit of profit. From his words alone, they could tell he wasn’t someone easy to deal with. They might end up offending someone and getting nothing in return.

“You’ve misunderstood, dear customer. The pavilion’s business has been booming lately, and we’re short on hands. These two stewards are newly recruited, and they may have been a bit negligent in serving you.”

Gu Fan let out a cold laugh.

“I spent money to enjoy myself, not to suffer. Why should your mistake ruin my mood?”

“Well then, now that my mood has already been ruined by you all, how do you plan to settle this?”

At this moment, one of the Celestial Heart Realm guards could no longer hold back. He stepped forward and said:

“Then what does the guest want?”

“Heh, very simple. I want Room Three of the Earth Grade now!”

“Guest, that private room has already been reserved…”

Gu Fan waved his hand and interrupted:

“Has the person arrived? If not, then it’s mine!”

“Or are you saying that this is the extent of the Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion’s attitude in admitting fault—just trying to brush me off?”

At this, the other guard reconfirmed:

“Guest insists on Room Three?”

“Only Room Three will do!”

Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance before responding:

“Very well. Then today, the Xuan Jade Cauldron Pavilion shall take this as compensation to the guest. Room Three is yours for the night!”

Gu Fan’s lips curled slightly, then he lifted the steward beside him and said:

“Still not leading the way?”

Just like that, the two Celestial Heart Realm guards watched as Gu Fan arrogantly headed toward the second floor, and then entered Room Three.

“What now? That young master from the Divine Soul Sect comes to Room Three every single day. If he finds out we gave it to someone else today…”

“What’s there to be afraid of? We have the backing of the Xuan Feather Immortal Sect. No matter how powerful his Divine Soul Sect is, he’s not going to tear down the pavilion, is he?”

“Besides… when the time comes, we’ll just have that young master from the Divine Soul Sect confront this guy directly. Saves us the trouble of teaching him a lesson ourselves.”

The other person frowned and thought for a moment, feeling it somewhat reasonable.

He then nodded and said:

“Fine, let’s see if this guy still dares to be this arrogant after he finds out his opponent is the young master of the Divine Soul Sect!”

“Hmph, just wait and enjoy the show!”

On the other side, Gu Fan, under the steward’s lead, arrived directly at Room Three on the second floor.

The view here was excellent. One could see all the performances in the entire first-floor main hall.

“This is indeed a nice spot.”

Gu Fan closed his eyes and pondered his next move.

According to what he learned from the Grand Elder, the people of the Divine Soul Sect had rather unconventional ways of thinking.

Based on the Grand Elder’s explanation, if Gu Fan were to behave like everyone else—meet them, state his request, offer compensation—the likely outcome would still be rejection.

Gu Fan had been puzzled at the time and asked why.

The Grand Elder had only replied with three words: too boring.

After that, the Grand Elder described his own interaction with that teacher from the Divine Soul Sect, all the way to being rejected.

Gu Fan finally reached a conclusion: begging someone from the Divine Soul Sect for help was useless.

If one wanted to connect with them, the only way was to make the other party find you intriguing, to spark their interest—only then could real contact be made.

So Gu Fan decided not to follow the usual path. If he came politely and requested an audience, he would already be following a tired and ordinary route from the very first step.

After some thought, he simply went ahead and occupied the room the other person liked best. Didn’t they especially like Room Three of the Earth Grade?

Gu Fan claimed it first, waiting for the other party to come knocking.

Then he would observe their reaction and decide his next move accordingly.

In any case, he had already succeeded in the first step. Now, all he had to do was wait for the other party to come looking for trouble!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep