Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

The King of Wine wanted to make a bet with Qiao Rui over the selection of the most beautiful woman, and asked Qiao Rui, "What do you think? Do you dare to bet?"

Qiao Rui heard about this kind of gambling for the first time and found it quite novel. He smiled and expressed his concerns: "This kind of gambling is interesting, but I don't know which girls will participate in the Oiran selection. How to choose? And what if the Oiran is not the one you and I have chosen?"

"I've already found out everything," the Wine King said excitedly, "You don't have to worry about the others. There are only four people who are most likely to win."

"There are the two capitals of the north and south, Miss Yudie from Hanchun Tower in Luoyang, the capital, and Miss Yulu from Yunyu Tower in Longxing City, the companion capital, who are known as the 'peerless twins'; there are Miss Longyue from Wenxiang Pavilion in Jinling, the 'twin gems of the east and west', and Little Baifeng from Pinfang Garden in the land of abundance."

The King of Wine had indeed done his homework and knew all the top prostitutes in brothels from all over the world like the back of his hand.

"You said you didn't have any other thoughts, but how do you know these girls so well?" The King of Wealth was angry again.

The Wine King pretended not to hear and deliberately ignored the questioning of the Wealth King. He said to Qiao Rui: "This bet concerns your life and property. I believe that after you choose the girl, you will do your best to help her win the flower queen. I will do the same if I want to win you, so..."

He paused and concluded: "The Oiran can only be chosen from among those chosen by you and me."

"You have a thorough plan. In that case, why not make a bet?" Qiao Rui agreed with a smile.

"Zhuo Yifei!" When the King of Wealth saw that the King of Wine avoided answering his questions, and saw that he and Qiao Rui finalized the plan of picking up the courtesan in just a few words, the King of Wealth was so angry that he was shaking all over and his three corpse gods were jumping up and down.

She pointed at the Wine King and said angrily, "If you dare to go to Luoyang, don't come back to the village anymore!"

After saying this, the Heavenly King of Wealth stamped his feet and left angrily. Before leaving, he did not forget to shout at the other two Heavenly Kings and the bandits, "What are you looking at? Get back here! If any of you dare to accompany him to Luoyang, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Upon hearing this, the King of Lust and the King of Anger looked resentful, with their heads hung, and followed the King of Wealth away, looking back every few steps, leaving the King of Wine standing there with a helpless smile.

"My cousin Cai Ling'er has been spoiled by her family since she was a child. It's really a headache!" The Wine King spread his hands and explained to Qiao Rui.

Qiao Rui nodded to show his understanding.

Some girls like to be petty and annoy others the more they care about the person. They are like little goblins who annoy others, and they only annoy the person they like.

Watching the three kings and their minions leave, Qiao Rui suddenly laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that I will break my promise? Anyway, the world is vast and the journey is long. You can't do anything to me if I stay in Shaolin!"

"The world is dangerous and people are treacherous. There are not many interesting people and not many interesting things. If you really want to go back on your word, I have nothing to say, but I know you won't, right?" The King of Wine looked at Qiao Rui and smiled slightly, with a sense of a hero appreciating another hero.

"Correct!"

The two looked at each other and laughed.

"Let us formally meet, Gusu Zhuo Yifei!" After laughing, the Drunken King stretched out his right hand, not with a fist, nor with a bow, but just with his palm placed sideways between the two of them.

Qiao Rui was slightly startled, then he reacted and smiled as he stretched out his right hand, "Longxing City, Qiao Rui!"

One is free and unrestrained, the other is chivalrous and righteous. Two peerless young men, two powerful hands clasped together, a long-lost etiquette that seems like a lifetime ago!

......

Henan, Luoyang!

Ancient Luoyang was located in the north of Luo River. The north of the river is called "Yang", so it was named Luoyang.

Today's Luoyang City spans the Luo River and has a population of one million. It is also known as Luojing and the Divine Capital, and is the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom.

This city is domineering in the Central Plains, gazing upon the world. It is known as the hub of all directions, the hinterland of the Nine Provinces, and the thoroughfare of ten provinces. It is the center of the world and the largest city in the world.

On this day, Luoyang city was extremely bustling with people coming and going, probably because today was the opening day for the selection of the world's most beautiful courtesan.

In the central square of South Market, the largest and most prosperous area in Luoyang City, a magnificent flower stand was built, which was decorated with clusters of flowers and was magnificent.

On the flower stage, twelve beautiful ladies with graceful figures were lined up. The host introduced them one by one, and then the beauties walked forward to show off their talents.

For a moment, there were so many beautiful girls, so beautiful that it was hard to take in the sight.

Next to the flower stand there is a huge list with red paper lace and colorful ribbons wrapped around it. This is the flower list.

At the top of the flower list, written horizontally, are the stage names of the twelve top beauties. On the left, written vertically, are the names of some flowers, from low to high: fifth-grade poppy, fourth-grade crabapple, third-grade magnolia, second-grade orchid, and first-grade peony.

There were soldiers guarding on both sides of the flower list, and an old scholar holding a pen in front to record. Every time the people chose a flower to give to their favorite top pick, the old scholar would add a stroke of the Chinese character "正" to the corresponding position in the flower list. Finally, the total value of the flowers was calculated based on the number of the Chinese characters, and the flower oiran was determined. This was called "Evaluating the Flower List", also known as "Fighting for the Flower List".

Of course, these flowers are imaginary and do not exist in real form. They are just a testimony to a beauty's fight for the flower list. And there is a price to pay for fighting for a beauty's place on the flower list.

If you choose the fifth-grade poppy, you need to pay 500 coins and get a wooden hairpin in return. If you choose the fourth-grade crabapple, you need to pay 500 coins and get a bronze hairpin in return.

The third-grade white jade flower is worth fifty taels, and a silver hairpin is given in return; the second-grade orchid is worth five hundred taels, and a gold hairpin is given in return.

A first-grade peony, priced at five thousand taels, with a gold and jade hairpin as a gift.

In addition, if the beauty is presented with a first-grade peony and a second-grade orchid, the old scholar will sing loudly three times to enhance the momentum of the top star and to appease the enthusiasm of the guests.

The flower ranking competition starts at the beginning of Shen time and ends at the end of You time every day, for a total of two hours.

The show officially opens today with twelve top performers appearing on the same stage. Each of them will give a brief performance to give everyone a preliminary understanding. From now on, six top performers will appear on stage every day to show their talents, to impress the patrons and to fight for a place on the beauty list.

Luoyang is the capital city, with countless wealthy people, and even the common people are generous. Less than an hour after the opening, many people have been listed on the flower list. Although most of them are fifth and fourth rank flowers, there are also third and second rank flowers.

Just at this moment, the clear voice of the old scholar was heard.

"Gusu Zhuo Yifei praised Miss Yudie from Hanchunlou for her beauty and gifted her a second-grade orchid!"

"Gusu Zhuo Yifei praised Miss Yudie from Hanchunlou for her beauty and gifted her a second-grade orchid!"

......

The old scholar sang it loudly three times, and then added a stroke at the position of Miss Yudie corresponding to the second-grade orchid.

The jade butterfly on the flower stage had eyes sparkling with autumn water. She bowed and thanked the generous guest for the reward.

Although no one knew where the rich guest was, she had a smile in her eyes, and wherever she passed was like a spring breeze. Everyone under the flower stand was intoxicated, as if she was the one thanking them. So they vied with each other and vie for the top spot on the flower list, just to get the top girl of their dreams to look directly at them.

The influence of this Oiran selection activity was very great. Distinguished guests from all over the world gathered in Luoyang, and the area around South City was crowded. Although there were many restaurants and teahouses on both sides of the flower platform, and the prices of dishes, drinks and snacks had increased several times compared to the past, it was still difficult to get a seat.

On the left side of the flower terrace, the second floor of Shizhixuan was already packed with guests. There were five people sitting at a table by the window, three of them sitting on three sides of the table, and a man and a woman sitting on a bench on the remaining side.

At this time, the woman's jade hand was pinching the soft flesh on the waist of the man in white next to her, and she said hatefully: "I let you compete on the flower list and pretend to be a rich customer, you shameless and vulgar thing!"

The man grinned and squinted his eyes, with an exaggerated expression, his facial features squeezed into a ball, and he begged for mercy repeatedly.

A young man sitting opposite looked at him with amusement and said to the man in white, "Didn't they say they couldn't come? I thought you were the only one here."

The one who spoke was Qiao Rui, and the other four were the Four Heavenly Kings of Wine, Sex, Money and Power.