Inside the hall, Hu Ximei had already risen to her feet. Her bearing was dignified, and her eyes and brows were clear and bright. If not for the curves beneath her red robes that seemed ready to burst forth, she might even have had the air of an immortal.
"Who is this beauty?"
Di Xin came up to her and looked her over carefully, little stars twinkling in his eyes. Then... they stopped twinkling.
He was already staring at her, transfixed.
"Great King, Great King..."
Daji coquettishly tugged at King Zhou's sleeve a few times before Di Xin finally came to his senses. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "This beauty is truly the most stunning woman in the world!"
He was the very picture of a lecher.
"Great King, this is my distant cousin. Her surname is Hu, and her given name is Ximei," Daji hurriedly introduced. She was genuinely worried that the Great King might lose his head over her cousin's beauty and grab the Jade Pipa Spirit to spank her three more times.
It wasn't as if he wouldn't do it.
That was exactly what he had done to Daji back then.
"Your humble servant pays her respects to the Great King!" Hu Ximei bowed lightly and greeted him with dignified courtesy.
"Hu Ximei... Ximei... Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman!"
Di Xin's voice paused, and his lecherous expression returned as before.
In truth, only now did he finally let out a long breath and feel at ease.
After meeting You Hun in Longde Hall, he had heard from Fang Bi that Su Daji had brought a red-robed beauty from outside the palace into Shouxian Palace.
Di Xin's first thought had been: could the visitor be Goddess Nuwa?
After all, he had a guilty conscience. The system had stolen her Monster Summoning Banner, so it would have been perfectly reasonable for the goddess to come looking for it.
As luck would have it, Fang Bi was a blunt man. He hadn't asked the red-robed Daoist nun for her name or identity and had come straight to find Di Xin.
The result was a misunderstanding that gave Di Xin quite a scare.
Even after seeing that the woman's face differed from the statue of Goddess Nuwa, he hadn't let down his guard. At the level of immortals, all it took was cultivating a transformation art to change into anyone's likeness with a single thought.
Even the Monkey from Journey to the West had once transformed into a temple!
Now, hearing that the red-robed Daoist nun was Hu Ximei, Di Xin recalled her from his memories.
She should be Daji's sister, the Jade Pipa Spirit who would later become one of the women in his harem.
It seemed his strategy of pretending to be a lecher had been the right move.
As he spoke, he even edged closer, lowering his head to look at the rolling hills beneath her snow-white neck. He was just a hair's breadth away from pressing his face against them.
"Great King, she's my younger sister!"
Daji hurriedly tugged at Di Xin and coughed, stressing the point once more.
"Oh, she's your younger sister. Right... your younger sister..."
As if suddenly waking from a dream, Di Xin glanced at Daji and smiled. "If she's your younger sister, then she must be younger than my Beloved Consort. But... she's bigger than my Beloved Consort!"
"Great King, I came here to see my elder sister. Now that I've seen her, I shall take my leave."
Hu Ximei's expression turned cold. She finished speaking solemnly, gave a bow, and started toward the exit.
"Little sister... little sister..."
Daji hurried after her with quick, light steps, calling out as she went.
"Beautiful little sister, don't go! I haven't had a chance to entertain you yet!"
Di Xin followed after them too, warmly trying to persuade her to stay.
Hu Ximei seemed determined to leave. No matter how Daji and Di Xin called after her, she kept walking without slowing down.
As they neared the gate of Shouxian Palace, two choices suddenly appeared before Di Xin.
[Option One: Leave the palace gate to persuade Hu Ximei to stay. Completion reward: Immortal Beast Azure Ox.]
[Option Two: Stop at the palace gate. Completion reward: Demon Beast Howling Celestial Hound.]
After reading them, Di Xin immediately slammed on the brakes and stopped outside the gate of Shouxian Palace, watching helplessly as Hu Ximei drifted away.
At the same time, a cold snort suddenly rang out from the sky.
It was a woman's voice.
Inside the palace, Di Xin couldn't see what was happening in the sky, but his backside still clenched instinctively.
Once again, the system had saved him.
Needless to say, if he had chased after her, danger might have struck at any moment.
Who was that woman?
Could it have been Goddess Nuwa?
He watched Hu Ximei's figure disappear among the layered halls and towers, not setting foot beyond the gate of Shouxian Palace.
[The host made the correct choice. The option task is complete. Reward: Demon Beast Howling Celestial Hound.]
As the words appeared before him once more, he saw a palm-sized white puppy suddenly appear atop the golden gourd in his system space.
It was chewing on the gourd's spout.
Was this Erlang Shen's Sky-Howling Dog?
Seeing the scene, Di Xin couldn't help but laugh ruefully.
This system was absurd. It had even brought Yang Jian's Sky-Howling Dog here?
Would keeping it mean he had to buy dog food too?
"Great King, my younger sister is a nun. She doesn't understand worldly ways or romance. She was hurt by a man when she was young, so she doesn't have a good impression of men. That's simply her nature. Please don't be angry with her."
Su Daji had now returned after seeing Hu Ximei off. She didn't criticize Di Xin's outrageous behavior at all, but instead explained the situation to him.
Di Xin shook his head in disappointment. "She really doesn't understand worldly ways. She wouldn't even give me the slightest respect. In the future, don't bring relatives like her to the palace."
He seemed to grow angrier as he spoke. At the end, he flung his sleeve and went back to his bedroom without another word to Daji.
Daji had accomplished her goal by badmouthing Hu Ximei a little, so she didn't bother trying to get on his good side. She went back to her own palace as well.
What she didn't know was that Di Xin now had no interest in any woman. The one he found most fascinating was that little white puppy.
It was alive. What was he supposed to do with it?
Lying in bed, Di Xin was truly at a loss.
The Sky-Howling Dog was Erlang Shen's demon beast, with astonishing strength and a reputation for fighting. But it was a living creature!
The system had stolen it too. Would Yang Jian track it here?
After all, the Monster Summoning Banner was an inanimate object, but the puppy was alive.
Could it have some kind of Divine Sense connection with Erlang Shen?
And how was he supposed to command it?
Would it leap out of the system space and take a bite out of him?
Di Xin felt a headache coming on.
After all, though he was currently at the mid-stage of the Human Flower Realm, he knew nothing about the spells Qi Cultivators used to command magic treasures and demon beasts. He was a complete novice.
Other people had masters, like having a teacher in class.
If their masters didn't teach them something, they could still learn it at an after-school program.
But in his current situation, he could only teach himself—and the damn problem was, he didn't even have a textbook!
There wasn't a single book like that in the Royal Palace.
Should he find a teacher and ask?
No. He was planning to keep a low profile. If he found a teacher, it would only bring him more trouble later.
He couldn't change his whole strategy just because of a dog!
"System, could you give your host a guide to Qi Cultivators?"
Suddenly, Di Xin had an idea and asked silently.
But the system remained silent, without the slightest response.
"What a heartless thing!"
After waiting a while, still without any words appearing, Di Xin muttered to himself and tossed and turned on the couch.
Before you continue