Outside the hotel.

Luo Xiu looked left and right but saw no one waiting for him. Could Third Senior Sister have chickened out and made up an excuse to get rid of me?

Just as he was about to turn back into the hotel and head to his room to teach his Third Senior Sister a lesson, a fragrant breeze drifted past his nose. An impossibly beautiful face seemed to materialize out of thin air, appearing right before him without warning.

Luo Xiu froze for a moment. "Why is it you?"

The breathtaking beauty before him was none other than Mu Xueyan.

Mu Xueyan turned and walked to the side. "Follow this palace. I have something to discuss."

A short while later, the man and woman arrived in the garden behind the hotel.

Luo Xiu eyed the icy beauty before him, a faint embarrassment creeping in as he recalled the day he had treated her illness. A touch of red graced Mu Xueyan's delicate face, hidden in the twilight, as she likely remembered the same incident. She considered it the greatest humiliation of her life. And yet, he had indeed cured her, leaving her with no outlet for her frustration.

In the silence, Mu Xueyan was the first to speak. "I hear you met Yang Zhilu this time."

Luo Xiu walked over to a long bench and sat down. "She's the one who blinded my left eye."

"She is my Senior Sister," Mu Xueyan stated coolly.

Luo Xiu laughed. "Well, isn't that a coincidence."

"Why did she blind your eye?" Mu Xueyan asked.

Luo Xiu shrugged. "You might not believe me if I tell you. I accidentally saw her bathing, and she just went ballistic, insisting she had to blind me."

Hearing this, a faint smile touched Mu Xueyan's lips. "Then she did one thing right."

Luo Xiu's face darkened instantly. "From the sound of it... you seem to hold quite a bit of hostility toward me as well."

Mu Xueyan huffed coldly as the memory of that day surfaced in her mind again.

Luo Xiu wore a pained expression. "The last thing I need right now is a Sky List Strong One keeping tabs on me."

"Who would bother keeping tabs on a scoundrel like you?" Mu Xueyan said with disdain.

Luo Xiu forced a wry smile. "Look, I was really just helping you get rid of the poison, and I only used my hand. You wouldn't have been satisfied unless I actually... you know, 'did it' with you, would you?"

"If you ever mention this again, this palace will kill you," Mu Xueyan said, her voice dripping with ice.

Luo Xiu pursed his lips. "Fine. In any case, no matter what your relationship is with Yang Zhilu, I'm going to settle the score with her."

Taking a deep breath, Mu Xueyan said, "She has become a lapdog for a Heretic Cult. On this trip to the bottom of the sea, she will certainly be working with the people from the Holy Boi Religion."

"So?"

Mu Xueyan turned to face him directly. "So, this palace will accompany you. We will inevitably encounter her, and this palace will kill her to cleanse the sect."

"How did you know I was going?"

"Your Third Senior Sister told me."

Having a tenth-ranked Sky List Strong One as a free enforcer—and a stunning beauty I can look at—doesn't seem too bad.

"Alright. Then it's settled."

"This palace will find you when you are ready to depart."

With those words, Mu Xueyan leaped into the air like a startled swan. Her long dress fluttered as she vanished into the night in the blink of an eye, as if she had never been there at all.

Afterward, Luo Xiu returned to his hotel room alone. The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom. Lu Nianjiao must be taking a shower.

But when he went to look, he found only the shower running; Lu Nianjiao was nowhere to be seen.

What the hell? She just took off? Luo Xiu was completely dumbfounded and bewildered.

Just then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw a message from Lu Nianjiao. She had sent a [naughty emoji], followed by a line of text: "Little Mule, wouldn't you know it, my monthly 'visitor' just arrived. Next time."

Luo Xiu shook his head with a smile and sent back an [angry emoji] with a message of his own: "As far as I know, the human body has more than one 'hole'."

Lu Nianjiao immediately replied with a [cursing emoji] and another message: "You damn pervert! It looks like I'll have to keep my distance from you from now on."

Luo Xiu sent a [laughing emoji], followed by: "What should I do, Third Senior Sister? I'm finding it really 'hard' to sleep."

Lu Nianjiao messaged back: "Not my problem. If you can't sleep, figure it out yourself. Maybe check for some of those little business cards by the hotel entrance. You can leave the Capital City tomorrow. I'll handle our Eldest Sister."

「The next day.」

Early in the morning, Luo Xiu was still fast asleep when a knock on the door jolted him awake.

"Who is it? It's so early..." he grumbled, thoroughly annoyed.

The door was suddenly pushed halfway open, and a mischievous little head peeked inside. It was Dou Dou.

"Heehee... Chen Shuisheng, I came to play with you!"

"Play? Don't be ridiculous." Luo Xiu sat up abruptly, glaring at her. "Did Eldest Sister send you to watch me?"

"Aww, don't say that. The Empress Sister is just worried about you. Look, Dou Dou even brought you a fun toy."

Luo Xiu glanced at the box of modeling clay in her hand and looked completely uninterested.

Dou Dou's expression suddenly turned very serious. "But the Empress Sister wants you in the Imperial Palace immediately. She sent me to come get you. Let's go! After we get there, Dou Dou will play with the modeling clay with you."

Luo Xiu put on a look of utter grief and indignation. "Dou Dou, you've changed! I don't think we can be friends anymore!"

Dou Dou grew anxious at his words and frantically waved her little hands. "Chen Shuisheng, don't be mad! Dou Dou is just following orders, really!"

Luo Xiu pretended to "cry," pointing a finger at her. "You said you wanted to be my best friend for life! Is this how you treat me?"

"I'm sorry," Dou Dou said, looking genuinely upset.

Luo Xiu pressed on. "And I was planning to take you to Sea City to eat all its specialties, like fried octopus balls, yogurt pudding, and diced pork with chicken sauce over rice... And there's this one shop that sells Tiramisu Starry Sky cupcakes! The cake is so soft and fragrant, and with the plant-based cream... taking a bite is just heaven!"

"Stop it!" Dou Dou shouted cutely, clenching her little fists. Her chest heaved as she stared at Luo Xiu, swallowing repeatedly. "Even if the Empress Sister gets angry, Dou Dou is going to Sea City with you!"

"What about your principles?" Luo Xiu asked.

Dou Dou bit her finger, her small face a picture of confusion. "What are 'principles'? Is that a type of cake? Is it delicious?"

Luo Xiu's expression turned serious. "Once we're in Sea City, I'll treat you to food from every street and alley!"

But Dou Dou's expression fell. She pulled a small pink wallet from her pocket and opened it to reveal only a few crumpled, small-denomination bills. "But Dou Dou has no money. And my junior sister won't let me have a phone. She says playing on a phone will get in the way of my cultivation."

On this, I have to agree. Dou Dou's junior sister is right. Once this kid gets her hands on a phone, she's completely unstoppable.

Dou Dou added, "But even though my junior sister doesn't play on her phone, she still can't beat me in a fight."

Speechless, Luo Xiu changed the subject. "Don't worry, I have money."

"So you'll treat Dou Dou?"

Luo Xiu waved his hand magnanimously. "What's there to say? We're solid bros."

"Yeah! You're Dou Dou's best bro!" she cheered. Dou Dou then happily scampered over, jumped onto the bed, and crawled to the nightstand, where she picked up the box of condoms.

Luo Xiu's expression shifted. "What are you doing with those?"

A mysterious look crossed Dou Dou's face. "These are really big balloons! I stole a bunch last time my junior sister and I stayed at a hotel. Let me tell you, Chen Shuisheng, the pink ones smell like strawberries! They're super fun. Let's play with them together!"

Luo Xiu reached out and snatched the box away. "Kids aren't allowed to play with these."

"..."

「That morning.」

Luo Xiu took Dou Dou and Chi Sha to the airport, where they boarded a flight to Sea City. As for Mu Xueyan, he figured she had her own ways of finding him, so he didn't give her a second thought.

「Imperial Palace.」

The moment Di Xuanji learned of Luo Xiu's departure, she sought out Lu Nianjiao to demand an explanation. Lu Nianjiao, however, had already prepared herself for a lecture and stood her ground fearlessly.

"Jiao Jiao, you just let him run wild!"

Lu Nianjiao chuckled dryly and said in a teasing tone, "Who are you trying to fool? If you really wanted to keep him in the Capital City, you wouldn't have sent Dou Dou to watch him. That girl has no principles whatsoever. Do you have any idea how easy it is to bribe her? Any random old man on the street could probably lure her away with a candied hawthorn stick."

"Besides," she continued, "your real reason for wanting to keep Little Mule here is so you can use him to cultivate your Bright Dragon Emperor Heart Art, isn't it?"

A blush spread across Di Xuanji's face. She quickly looked away and said sternly, "Do not make wild assumptions about your Empress's intentions. Be careful, or I might punish you for your insolence."

Lu Nianjiao shrugged. "If you're so desperate for a man, why not go find that backup from the Lin Family? He's not much worse than Little Mule in any respect, and he's even ranked second on the Sky List."

Di Xuanji's expression darkened. "What backup? That was a decision made by the old fossils of the Di Family. It has nothing to do with me."

"But seriously," Lu Nianjiao said, her tone growing earnest, "to deal with the Holy Boi Religion ahead, we will need the Lin Family's power. You're going to have to give them something to make them pledge their loyalty to you."

Di Xuanji gave a scornful laugh. "What? As the dignified Empress of Hua Country, I have to secure my realm by sleeping with men and offering up my body? And to a man over two hundred years old, no less."

"At our level," Lu Nianjiao reminded her, "we are no longer Martial Artists but Cultivators. Age is meaningless."

Di Xuanji snorted coldly and turned to leave. "Do not bring this up again. There is only one man in my heart!"

"..."

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