The Empire's Nobles

In a corner of eastern Vast Sea City, crowds gathered, and the houses were packed more closely together than those in the city center.

The architectural styles were bizarre and varied, but one small blue-and-white house stood out sharply among them.

The blue-and-white house was exquisitely crafted. Its snow-white steps were spotless, and its glass windows were decorated with all kinds of colorful seashells.

Through the windows, one could see that the interior had been carefully tidied, with the furniture arranged in perfect order. The pure white walls were adorned with cute plush decorations, creating an exceptionally cozy atmosphere.

In stark contrast to the warmth inside, noisy crowds surrounded the house in rings, creating a jarring disparity.

"Don't be so ungrateful! My Boss has taken a liking to you—it's a blessing you cultivated for in your past life!" A short, plain-looking fat man pointed arrogantly at the young girl not far before him.

Two others stood beside the fat man, one short and one thin.

Shorty stood in the middle of the three, positioned slightly ahead of the others. Clearly, he was their leader.

Before them stood a delicate-looking young girl.

The girl lowered her head in silence, only daring to stare at the soles of the three men's shoes.

Her hands did not know where to go, and her whole body appeared tense and uneasy.

Seeing that the girl remained silent, Skinny Man continued, "Do you know who the one in the middle is?"

The girl silently shook her head.

Skinny Man's face lit up with excitement. "Do you see the badge on my Boss's chest? He just registered as a Soul Elder today!"

"Do you know what a Soul Elder is? Once his official warrant comes through in a few days, my Boss will be a noble of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

The neighbors and passersby watching nearby all lowered their voices at Skinny Man's words, not daring to offend a future noble.

Some kindhearted people who had wanted to help the girl halted mid-step.

Soul Masters were not people ordinary folk could afford to provoke, much less a Soul Elder.

Once one reached the rank of Soul Elder, one could enter the Heaven Dou Empire's noble system and become a bona fide imperial baron.

Though it was only the lowest rank of nobility, it was still part of the empire's privileged class.

"No! I'm not willing..." The delicate girl gathered her courage and refused.

A middle-aged woman in the crowd heard the girl's refusal and looked utterly exasperated, as though she wished she could remarry in her place. "Xiao Die, your parents died early. Now that a Soul Elder is willing to take a liking to you, hurry up and agree! Once this chance is gone, it's gone!"

The elderly woman beside her pointed at her nose and cursed, "You living widow, no wonder you brought death upon your husband! It's not your place to tell Xiao Die who she should marry!"

The fat man glared at the elderly woman with displeasure. "Old hag, this isn't any of your business either. This is between my Boss and Xiao Die! Keep spouting nonsense, and I'll smash your coffin lid!"

Intimidated by the fat man's imposing manner, the elderly woman was momentarily speechless.

Skinny Man added, "Even though your parents are dead, my Boss won't hold your family background against you. From now on, my Boss will definitely take good care of you."

"Don't talk about my parents like that! I have my grandpa to take care of me!" The delicate girl glared fiercely at Skinny Man's spiteful face.

Shorty's lecherous gaze continuously swept over the girl's body, and he swallowed.

The girl felt uncomfortable all over beneath Shorty's stare.

"Skinny Man, watch how you speak! Who taught you to talk to Sister-in-law like that?!" Shorty shot Skinny Man a sidelong look.

Skinny Man pretended to slap himself, putting on a show as he gave himself a few light smacks and said quietly, "My fault! My fault! I really deserve to die! Sister-in-law, please don't blame me for talking nonsense!"

Xiao Die's body trembled continuously, but she did not say a word.

Shorty pinched his throat and spoke in an unpleasant voice. "Xiao Die, how old is your grandpa already? How will you live alone in the future? I'm a Soul Elder certified by Spirit Hall now. Everyone has to call me sir when they see me! Follow me, Xiao Die, and I guarantee you'll live well and eat well, with a whole group of servants waiting on you. From now on, you'll be my noble lady."

Shorty took a step forward, trying to approach the delicate girl.

The girl took a step back and kept shaking her head.

"I don't need your care, I don't need to live off you, and I don't need to eat off you! I need even less to become a noble!" The girl kept backing away, loudly rejecting everything the man before her offered. She deeply resented Shorty for cursing her grandpa to die, and her voice had even turned hoarse as she refused him.

Step by step, Xiao Die retreated beneath the eaves of the blue-and-white house. There was nowhere left for her to go.

Among the onlookers, there were also quite a few who agreed with Shorty.

"How old is that old man already? Xiao Die really should find herself a good family. This man may be ugly, but he's still a Soul Elder. If you think about it, Xiao Die is the one marrying above her station!" Middle-Aged Widow spoke up again.

"Yeah, who knows what that old man has been doing these past two days? He's nowhere to be seen. Something this major is happening at home, and he doesn't even know about it."

"I heard the old man went to the Black Sea to catch some kind of octopus!"

"The Black Sea? Isn't that a place where no one returns from?"

"Heh, what a coincidence. They can hold the funeral and wedding together!" Another person gloated.

"Do you people have any humanity at all? Xiao Die must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to end up with neighbors like you!"

"You're the only one who thinks you're so noble. For ordinary people like us, getting to cling to a Soul Master's thigh is the kind of good fortune that makes our ancestors' graves smoke."

The fat man looked at the gloomy expression on Shorty's face and knew that his Boss had been thoroughly angered by Sister-in-law.

The fat man considered himself his Boss's number-one lackey. After his round eyes rolled around, he came up with an excellent idea.

Leaning close to Shorty's ear, he whispered, "Boss, don't worry. I've thought of an idea."

The fat man paused, then began to explain it in detail.

"Boss, in a moment, the three of us will force Sister-in-law into the house. Once we shut the doors and windows, won't you be able to do whatever you want with her?"

"Once it's a done deal, Sister-in-law will have to agree even if she doesn't want to!"

Shorty's gloomy face gradually flushed red as Fatty's suggestion entered his ears.

He patted Fatty on the shoulder.

"That's how we'll do it. Once this is done, you'll have plenty of good food and fine drink!"

After hearing Boss's approval, Fatty's lips curled up, and he let out a smug chuckle.

Fatty then quietly explained his plan to Skinny Man, whose eyes immediately lit up.

The three of them then advanced step by step toward Xiao Die, who was backed against the wall.

Fatty did not forget to shout loudly, "Those of you with nothing to do, go home. Stop standing around here chattering and making a fuss. My boss and I are inviting Sister-in-law inside to talk. We'll call you all over for the wedding feast in a few days!"

Seeing this, the onlookers could guess what the three of them intended to do.

But because of their identities as Soul Masters, they did not know what to do for the moment.

Even the Middle-Aged Widow, who had previously believed Xiao Die should get married, began to regret what she had said.

The Middle-Aged Widow had never expected the three men before her to plan to drag Xiao Die into a house in broad daylight.

Once the doors and windows were shut, who knew what might happen.

At that moment, the Middle-Aged Widow wished she could slap herself to ease the guilt in her heart.

But no matter what the watching neighbors thought, they absolutely did not dare stop the three men before them.

A few people intended to go to the city gate and seek help from the city guards.

But they had no confidence in this either. After all, Soul Elders were the empire's future nobility. Who knew whether the officials would protect one another?

If they failed to save Xiao Die, the people who reported it would be the ones in trouble.

Ordinary people could not withstand a Soul Elder's retaliation.

As those few hesitated, the three men continued closing in on the girl.