"No, no, Brother Jack, it's too expensive," Renna protested, waving her hands.
Jack looked at her seriously and sighed. "Either you eat with me, or I will leave this place," he said in a serious tone.
When Renna heard his words, she swallowed hard. She couldn't afford to anger Jack, as he was a premium customer.
But she also didn't want to eat the food he ordered because it was too expensive.
Finally, she gave in after Jack's threat. "Thanks, Brother, for the treat," she said and nodded.
'This guy is so rich. This is the first time a customer has treated me so kindly,' she thought, looking at Jack in a new light.
'He's handsome.' She stared at his face for a few seconds, then, with a slight blush, averted her gaze.
Her rapidly beating heart calmed down, and she relaxed a bit. 'He makes me feel special,' she thought. With a slight smile, she moved closer to Jack, pressing her body against him.
She even started taking food in her hand and feeding Jack herself.
Soon, they began talking. Jack mostly listened while Renna, under the influence of alcohol, started telling her story.
Jack learned that she also wanted to be a cultivator, but since she had a mother and little sister to take care of, she gave up on her dream and worked here as a waitress.
"You're a good girl," Jack said, patting her hand as his cheeks flushed red. He didn't know if it was the alcohol or the fact that he was touching a beauty.
Soon, the food was finished, and by now, Renna was so drunk that she couldn't even stand. She leaned completely against Jack, her head resting in his lap.
"You're the best customer I've ever had. I'm truly grateful to you," Renna blurted out in her drunken state, her face red as a tomato as she looked at Jack with blurred eyes.
Jack looked down at her picturesque face and smiled. He truly felt good with such praise and her lying in his lap. 'Having money truly changes everything,' he thought, patting her head again.
"Big Brother, you can come here anytime, and I'll make sure you get the highest service," she blurted out again.
Jack chuckled at her words. "Thanks," he said. Then, he started pouring his Qi into her body. Soon, Renna came to her senses, the alcohol-induced drowsiness evaporating. Only then did she realize what she was doing.
Her ears glowed red as she found herself in his lap. Quickly jolting away like lightning, she moved back and bowed before him. "Sorry, Brother, I forgot my limits," she said, bowing again and again.
Jack chuckled and patted her head again. "Don't worry, I liked it," he said. "You can get me the bill now."
"Ahh… Sure… Thanks, Brother, for forgiving me." She quickly stood up and ran outside the small room. After some time, she returned with a small pouch in her hand. "Brother, your total is four hundred and twenty low-grade Spirit Stones," she murmured, her face turning red.
She was embarrassed that she had eaten half of these things, and now Jack had to pay for it.
But when she saw the smile on Jack's face, she relaxed a bit. Jack quickly placed the coins in her pouch and nodded.
"Here, take these as your tip," Jack said, handing her ten extra Spirit Stones.
When she noticed the extra ten Spirit Stones in her hands, she was stunned for a moment. She couldn't believe her own eyes.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Jack, then at the stones in her hands. "Brother…" Words seemed to stick in her throat.
Ten Spirit Stones was a huge amount for her. It could be said that she would need to work in this restaurant for years to amass such wealth for herself.
Although Spirit Stones were daily currency for cultivators, for mortals like her, they could rarely get their hands on them.
"Thank you so much, Brother… This will help me a lot." She placed the stones in her pocket and hugged Jack.
Jack felt her lithe body wrapped around his chest, and a warm feeling arose in his heart. Her floral fragrance cascaded through his nose, giving him a high better than the alcohol he had just consumed.
A smile tugged at his face, and he enjoyed the moment, not pushing her away.
Soon, Renna realized what she was doing and quickly stepped back, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Brother…" she murmured under her breath.
Jack chuckled at her words. "It felt good," he said and laughed.
Renna grew even more embarrassed, not daring to meet his eyes.
After talking a bit more, Jack walked out of the restaurant with a satisfied smile and a buzz from the booze. He felt as if he were on top of the world.
He also connected with Renna on his communication device.
'In just a single day, two girls connected with me. Money truly is marvelous,' he thought, chuckling. He recalled how hard it was to talk to girls in his previous life and even in this one before awakening his system.
But now, two girls were fawning over him, and one of them was even married. This was a true shock to him.
"People who say money can't buy happiness are liars," he thought, beaming with a happy smile.
"Time to go back to the sect." He looked at the sky and realized it was already evening. He wanted to return to his sect and cultivate.
Although he now had unlimited money, Jack knew that in this world, money was just an abstraction that could be snatched away if you were weak. He needed to get stronger.
Taking a deep breath, he silently jumped from his position and landed on the roof of a nearby building.
Since he was in the Bone Refinement Realm, he couldn't fly, but he could jump very high, so traversing the distance to his sect wasn't a problem.
Half an hour later, he stood in front of his cave, a frown appearing on his face.
Two people stood before his cave. One was a fat, bald man who looked like a monk. The other was also fat but had hair, though his hairline was receding.
Jack recognized them instantly, and his heart tightened.
They were the bullies of the outer sect, the 'Fickle Brothers.' They were at Bone Refinement Level Nine, one step away from Marrow Refinement. They were the highest cultivation students in the outer sect, as those who reached Marrow Refinement joined the inner sect.
Jack had heard about them before. They went around bullying newcomers to show their dominance in the outer sect.
There were even cases of them killing outer sect students just for fun.
Swallowing hard, Jack moved forward. When they noticed him, he put on a fake smile.
"Hello, Big Brothers," he said timidly.
He knew he would die from a single punch from them, so it was better to avoid acting out of ego.
If they went too far, he had his whole life to take revenge. But if he died here, there would be nothing.
The two looked at Jack's timid demeanor and laughed.
"We thought you ran away from the sect. Turns out you were just roaming around instead of cultivating," Black Fickle, the bald one, said with a domineering expression.
Jack could tell they were annoyed by his absence.
"I'm sorry, Brother. I was just running some errands… Ahh!" Jack bowed slightly, but before he could finish, Yellow Fickle, the one with the receding hairline, disappeared from his spot and appeared near Jack, punching him in the gut.
Jack flew back a few meters and coughed up blood. 'The power difference is too much! Ahh… It hurts…' he grunted.
The two stood in front of him with sadistic grins. "First, you're not in your cave, and then you have the nerve to talk in front of your Big Brothers! You need a strict lesson!" Black Fickle said in a righteous tone.
Yellow Fickle kicked Jack in the face, sending him flying toward his cave.
Jack felt his jaw dislocate, and more blood poured from his mouth. 'Shit! They might kill me at this rate!' he thought, his eyes turning bloodshot.
The two approached him again. "You need to be punished, you son of a bitch! Roaming around instead of cultivating—you're wasting sect resources!" Black Fickle said, raising his fist to punch Jack again.
But before they could do so Jack quickly took out his aura congeling pendent and showed it to them.
"Please forgive me brothers, although it's not much but you can keep it." He said quickly, coughing up more blood in the process.
The two brothers who were about to beat him up even more stopped in their tracks and frowns appeared on their faces. Their gazes then landed on the pendent in Jack's hands.
The two looked at each other and a glimmer shone in their eyes. Smiles then appeared on their faces.