The Second Prince, Xue Luochuan

Xue Beng saw the warning in Bai Wanwan's eyes, but he paid it no mind.

From their brief exchange, Xue Beng had already reached a conclusion: the two beauties before him certainly had some backing, but that backing meant next to nothing against him.

Even if he went too far, whoever stood behind them would not dare come after him.

As for Moxiong beside them, he ignored him entirely.

He was strong, sure. Taking on three or five people would be no problem for him.

What a joke. Did their imperial family lack experts?

Not at all. They even had a Titled Douluo serving as a Guest Elder, and that Guest Elder was on very good terms with his uncle, Prince Xue Xing.

"Tsk, this is your first time in Heaven Dou City, isn't it? Want me to show you around? I know Heaven Dou City like the back of my hand. And my palace is huge-there's plenty of room for you to spend the night."

Xue Beng smiled and reached toward Bai Wanwan.

But before his hand could touch her, she slapped it aside. "I'm warning you. Don't get any funny ideas, or you probably won't be able to handle the consequences."

Bai Wanwan flexed her wrist slightly, her tone remarkably calm.

"Can't handle them?"

"I'd really like to see what consequences I can't handle. Still, I do like that defiant attitude of yours. I hope you can keep it up."

Xue Beng kicked at the table before him, only to find that it did not budge. Looking to the side, he saw Moxiong holding it down with one hand, staring at him with unmistakable hostility.

"Just leave him breathing."

Qian Renxue's voice drifted over.

Before Xue Beng could react, a large hand loomed ever larger before his eyes.

There was a bang.

The chair beneath Xue Beng shattered in an instant. An irresistible force slammed his body into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Having dealt with Xue Beng, Moxiong turned his gaze toward the street corner. "Young Master, Young Lady, there are more people over there. Shall I go deal with them?"

"Leave them alone. If we dealt with everyone, how would we use this as a pretext?"

Qian Renxue waved a hand lightly.

The commotion had already drawn the stall owner's attention. At the sight of Xue Beng lying on the ground, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

After a moment's hesitation, the owner approached the table where Qian Renxue, Bai Wanwan, and Moxiong sat.

"Dear customers, you've gotten yourselves into trouble. You should leave now, before anyone comes."

The owner glanced at Xue Beng on the ground and offered the well-meant warning.

As a notorious wastrel in Heaven Dou City, Xue Beng was recognized by plenty of people, and this owner was one of them.

"Thank you for your concern, but when will our order be ready?"

Bai Wanwan spoke rather casually, taking the owner's warning completely to heart neither in word nor thought.

To others, the matter with Xue Beng might have been serious trouble. After all, they had struck an imperial prince, and they had hardly gone easy on him.

But to Bai Wanwan and Qian Renxue, it was merely a trivial matter they could resolve with ease, not trouble at all.

Seeing their calm expressions, the owner thought for a moment, then said nothing more and went to prepare Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan's order. He had already warned them, after all. If they refused to listen, there was nothing he could do.

Meanwhile, at the street corner.

After exchanging a glance, the two guards tacitly headed in different directions, following Xue Beng's earlier instructions to fetch reinforcements from separate places.

Back at the stall.

Qian Renxue, Bai Wanwan, and Moxiong waited for roughly ten minutes before the owner brought out their order.

Bai Wanwan stirred the beef soup before her with a spoon and took a small sip. Her azure eyes brightened slightly. It tasted good.

Seeing Bai Wanwan's expression, Qian Renxue reached over to tidy a loose strand of her hair, then began tasting her own soup.

As for Xue Beng, who lay unconscious on the ground, none of the three spared him another glance.

But while they enjoyed their food, one of the guards who had left earlier returned with the Second Prince, Xue Luochuan, dressed in imperial attire, heading toward the stall.

"Moxiong, we'd like to eat in peace."

Noticing the approaching men, Qian Renxue spoke softly, then lowered her head and continued drinking her beef soup.

"Understood."

Moxiong silently turned toward Xue Luochuan and the guard. He said nothing, merely watching them, but with every step they took, another Spirit Ring appeared around him.

By the time they were ten meters from the stall, Moxiong had revealed nine Spirit Rings: two yellow, two purple, and five black.

The nine flickering Spirit Rings were especially dazzling at that moment.

An invisible pressure spread from Moxiong as he quietly fixed Xue Luochuan with a gaze tinged with brutality.

"Nine Spirit Rings... a Titled Douluo!"

Xue Luochuan looked at Moxiong's nine Spirit Rings, then at the two young mistresses drinking their beef soup with their heads lowered, and finally at the unconscious Xue Beng. His gaze slowly shifted to the guard who had brought him.

A speechless look entered his eyes.

When the guard found him, Xue Luochuan had assumed Xue Beng had once again harassed a girl from some prominent family and run into a little trouble. He had come to give both sides a way to back down. Out of respect for the imperial family, they could make a serious matter minor, then let it go altogether.

But the situation before him was clearly nothing of the sort.

A nine-ring Titled Douluo sat quietly before him, and that faintly brutal gaze made his meaning perfectly clear: come any closer, and he would strike.

"S-Second Pri-"

The guard's voice trembled, but before he could finish, a searing pain spread across his cheek.

A sharp slap rang out in the street.

"Who gave you permission to speak?"

"And how many times have I told you to keep an eye on the Fourth Prince? Don't let him behave like a wastrel, and don't let him harass respectable women. Have you been ignoring everything I said?"

Xue Luochuan gave the guard beside him a cold look. "What are you still standing here for?"

"Get out!"

As Xue Luochuan spoke, he also signaled something with his eyes.

Catching his signal, the guard answered and turned to leave.

Only after the guard had gone some distance did Xue Luochuan turn back toward Moxiong, though his feet remained firmly in place. He did not move an inch.

He understood the situation perfectly well. He could not resolve this himself. Someone else would have to come.

Before an expert at the Titled Douluo level, even Xue Ye himself would have to show some respect, let alone a Second Prince like him.